THE  SEEDLINGS' 
-    •>  HARVEST  ' 


L-E-R.OY 


BEKTRA^D  SMITHS 
ACRES  Of-  BOOKS 
14*  PACIFIC  AVENUH 
BEACH.  CALIF. 


Joe  mixed  some  meal 


(Page  79) 


THE 
SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 


BY 
LILLIAN   E.   ROY 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 
WESSELS  &  BISSELL  CO. 

1910 


COPYRIGHT,  1910,  BY 
WESSELS  &  B1SSELL  CO. 

September 

ENTERED  AT  STATIONERS'  HALL 
(  All  Rifhtt  Rtierved  ) 


To  my  beloved  brother 
WILLIAM  BECKER, 

the  Walter  of  this  story 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  PLANTING  OF  THE  SEED i 

II.  THE  FIRST  DEPOSIT      . 13 

III.  JOE 23 

IV.  THE  FIRST  REAL  MEMBER 33 

V.  THE  SEED  TAKES  ROOT      ....     .  39 

VI.  "FIRST  THE  BLADE"     .     .....  55 

VII.  WHAT  RESULTED  FROM  THE  BERRY  PARTY  67 

VIII.  JOE'S  DEMONSTRATIONS       .....  79 

IX.  SOME  NEW  SOCIETY  MEMBERS      ...  93 

X.  THE  "  BENEFIT  "  CIRCUS    .     .     .     .     .  117 

XI.  "  THEN  THE  EAR  " 149 

XII.  THE  BUNNIES  JOIN  THE  SOCIETY  .     .     .  171 

XIII.  MARY'S  DEMONSTRATION 195 

XIV.  THE  FULL  GRAIN  IN  THE  EAR     .     .     .231 


SRLE 
URL 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Joe  mixed  some  meal  (page  79)     .      .     Frontispiece 

FACING   PAGE 

A  sweet  woman  drew  them  into  conversation  6 
"I  thought  I'd  go  acrosst  to  where  the  trees 

and  birds  are" 24 

Laughing  and  shouting  they  trudged  along     .  66 

Betty  waving  her  wand  toward  Clare's  poodle  142 

"I'll  take  you  with  me  when  I'm  found"     .  216 


The  Seedlings'  Harvest 

CHAPTER   I 

PLANTING    OF  THE   SEED 

/^vNE  beautiful  June  afternoon  while  the 
sun  challenged  the  birds  and  bees  to  do 
their  best  in  Nature's  Choral,  two  little  play- 
mates sat  under  an  apple-tree  in  an  old 
orchard.  They  had  been  discussing  the  pit- 
iable condition  of  some  qrphan  children  who 
had  been  left  homeless. 

"  Betty,"  said  Rod  impressively,  after  a 
long  silence,  "  I'll  tell  you  what!  When  we 
grow  up  we'll  build  the  biggest  house  that 
ever  was.  All  the  children  and  poor  people 
can  live  there  and  be  happy." 

"That's  perfectly  lovely!"  exclaimed 
Betty;  "and  can  we  build  a  big  barn  too, 
for  all  the  homeless  animals  that  wander  about 
with  nothing  to  eat?  " 


2        THE   SEEDLINGS'   HARVEST 

"Why,  of  course!  Our  people  will  help 
look  after  them." 

"Goodness!  How  could  we  ever  do  it» 
Rod?  "  asked  Betty  doubtfully. 

"You've  just  said  it,  Bet.  '  Goodness!' 
We'd  have  to  be  so  good  and  study  our  bible, 
to  learn  how  to  follow  right  in  the  Master's 
footsteps." 

"  Then "  prompted  Betty  as  Rod  wan- 
dered mentally. 

"  Why,  then  we'd  build  this  big  home.  It'll 
have  a  beautiful  wide  door  that  opens  out  this 
way,"  explained  Rod,  holding  out  his  arms 
invitingly.  "  A  large,  round  light  on  each  side 
of  the  steps  will  shine  brightly  all  night  so 
that  everyone  can  find  their  way  home." 

"And  have  a  name  over  the  door,"  Betty 
suggested  eagerly.  "Let's  call  it  *  Love's 
Home/" 

"Just  the  name  for  it!  Because  it  will  be 
Love's,"  said  Rod,  nodding  his  head  approv- 
ingly. "  I'd  be  the  manager  and  you'd  be  the 
matron." 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST        3 

"Doesn't  it  sound  businesslike?"  asked 
Betty.  "  You  would  have  to  have  a  safe  like 
father's  to  hold  the  money,  and  I'd  have  a  big 
book  to  write  down  the  names  of  our  people 
like  they  do  in  hotels." 

"  We'd  have  to  account  for  all  the  members 
too;  what  they  are  doing,  and  how  we  are 
teaching  them  to  live,"  added  Rod. 

"  Oh,  dear,"  queried  Bet,  tremblingly, 
at  the  magnitude  of  the  plan,  "  do  you  really 
think  we  could  ever  do  anything  so  beauti- 
ful?" 

"Why  of  course!"  asserted  Rod  positively. 
"  Won't  we  have  God's  love  with  us  for  every 
help?" 

Several  moments  of  silence  ensued,  broken 
by  Betty. 

"  Rod,  what's  the  use  of  waiting  to  grow  up? 
I  want  to  do  something  now.  Why  can't  we 
begin  in  a  teeny,  weeny  way,  and  grow  up  with 
our  work?  Then  when  we're  grown-ups  we'll 
know  enough  to  take  charge  of  a  big  home." 

"Say,  Bet,  you're  great!"  exclaimed  Rod 


4       THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

admiringly.  "  That  was  a  good  thought  to  fol- 
low up.  We  can  begin  planning  after  lunch. 
We'll  go  home  now,  and  get  some  paper  and 
pencils,  and,  Bet,  don't  forget  your  bible. 
That  will  be  very  necessary  if  we  want  to  start 
right." 

Betty  ran  home  whistling  to  the  robins  who 
answered  her  from  the  cherry-tree,  while  Rod 
went  into  the  house  to  gather  equipment  for 
work,  among  which  was  a  small  bible  on  the 
fly-leaf  of  which  his  mother  had  written: 

"  All  Scripture  is  given  of  God  and  is  pro- 
fitable for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction 
and  for  instruction  in  righteousness  that  the 
man  of  God  may  be  perfectly  furnished  unto 
all  good  work." 

Bet  or  Betty  were  the  only  names  Elizabeth 
Dorand  answered  to.  Had  anyone  called 
"  Elizabeth  "  Betty  would  have  looked  about 
to  see  who  it  was.  She  was  a  bright,  slender 
f  child  of  ten  years,  loving  everybody  and  every- 
thing. 

Dr.  Dorand  was   a  veterinarian,  but  had 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST        5 

been  an  invalid  for  several  years,  having  re- 
ceived spinal  injuries  in  a  runaway  accident. 

Mrs.  Dorand  was  a  sweet,  placid  woman 
who  thought  as  her  family  did  in  everything. 
She  was  devoted  to  her  husband  and  children, 
making  their  home  an  oasis  of  love. 

Bert,  the  eldest  son,  age  eighteen,  expected 
to  enter  college  in  the  Fall ;  Ned,  age  sixteen, 
was  just  finishing  high  school;  Walter,  age 
fourteen,  could  spare  no  time  for  future  stud- 
ies, being  fully  occupied  in  planning  new  fun. 

"  Rod  "  was  short  for  Rodney  Alvern.  He 
was  a  sturdy  clever  lad  of  eleven ;  studying  in- 
dustriously and  playing  as  gleefully  as  any  of 
his  playmates,  although  a  deep  current  of 
Love  impelled  his  actions. 

Mrs.  Alvern  was  a  widow,  her  husband 
having  passed  on  during  Rodney's  infancy. 
Marion,  a  daughter,  aged  fifteen,  was  the 
only  other  child. 

Mrs.  Alvern  had  sufficient  property  to  en- 
able them  to  live  very  comfortably,  although 
she  was  generally  prostrated  from  nervousness, 


6        THE   SEEDLINGS'   HARVEST 

seldom  leaving  the  house.  The  children  had 
acquired  the  habit  of  coming  to  her  in  every 
perplexity,  which  she  would  solve  from  her 
bible.  She  would  read  and  explain  a  scrip- 
tural verse,  applying  it  to  their  direct  needs, 
until  they  regarded  their  bibles  as  daily 
guides. 

Thus  it  was  that  Betty  and  Rod  believed  in 
God  as  an  All-wise  Father  who  meant  His 
children  to  be  happy.  Their  playmates,  how- 
ever, feared  God  as  the  power  that  sent  them 
all  mortal  trouble,  finally  allowing  Death  to 
take  the  life  that  had  been  given. 

The  summer  before  this  story  opens,  Betty 
and  Rod  were  at  the  seashore  with  Mrs.  Do- 
rand  for  a  few  weeks.  While  on  the  beach 
one  morning,  a  sweet  woman  being  interested 
in  the  children,  drew  them  into  conversation. 
After  discussing  various  subjects,  Betty  incid- 
entally mentioned  the  way  she  used  the  bible 
as  a  guide.  Their  new  acquaintance,  rinding 
they  had  receptive  thoughts,  carefully  ex- 
plained Truth  to  them,  as  Scientifically  taught 


A  sweet  woman  drew  them  into  conversation 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST        7 

and  practiced  by  Christ  Jesus.  Many  things 
that  had  been  perplexing  before,  grew  clear  to 
them  with  their  new  understanding. 

As  they  parted  the  lady  kissed  them  saying: 
"  My  name  is  Penelope  Wilson  and  I  am 
returning  to  New  York  to-day,  but  I  feel  sure 
we  will  see  each  other  at  some  future  time.  I 
intend  going  abroad  soon  or  I  should  ask  you 
to  correspond  with  me." 

The  lady's  name  was  not  written  down,  con- 
sequently it  was  forgotten,  but  the  children  re- 
membered her  teaching  and  practised  it  as  far 
as  they  could.  To  them  God  was  All-Love, 
All-Life  and  All-Mind;  being  All  there  was 
no-thing  else  and  it  was  an  error  to  think 
otherwise. 

•  •  •  :.  • 

When  Betty  hurried  over  after  lunch,  Rod 
was  already  waiting  in  the  summer-house 
with  books  and  papers  spread  out  on  the  table. 

"  Now,  Bet,  we'll  have  to  realize  this  is  to 
be  done  in  a  business  way  and  apply  every- 
thing to  some  good.  You  remember  '  the  ser- 


8        THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

vant  with  the  talent?'    Well,  by  working  and 
watching  we  will  gradually  get  results." 

"  Rod,  if  we  '  are  to  get  about  our  Father's 
business'  don't  you  think  we'd  better  ask  Him 
for  help?"  ventured  Betty. 

"You're  right.  I'd  almost  forgotten,"  re- 
plied Rod. 

After  a  few  moment's  silent  communion 
with  the  Spirit,.  Betty  said: 

"A  verse  just  came  to  my  mind  that  will 
make  a  fine  text  for  the  heading  of  our  con- 
tract." 

"  What  is  it?"  asked  Rod.  "  Say  it  slowly 
while  I  write  it  down." 

"  *  If  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as 
touching  anything  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be 
done  for  them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  Heav- 
en," recited  Betty  slowly. 

"  That  seems  encouraging,  don't  it?  "  asked 
Rod,  finishing  the  writing. 

"Yes,  it  is,"  stated  Betty.  "  I  think  it's  per- 
fectly beautiful  when  God's  thoughts  sing 
through  our  mind  if  we  would  but  pay  atten- 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST        9 

tion.    Now  let  your  book  open  to  see  what  He 
tells  you." 

Rod's  bible  opened  at  the  seventh  chapter  of 
Revelations,  but  his  eye  glancing  over  several 
verses,  he  read  them  in  order: — the  ninth — 
sixteenth — and  seventeenth : 

" l  Lo  a  great  multitude  stood  before  the 
throne — 

'They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst 
any  more — 

'  For  the  lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne  shall  feed  them  and  shall  lead  them 
unto  living  fountains  of  waters  and  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes." 

"  I  think  that  is  wonderful  1  To  think  your 
leading  is  so  full  of  great  promises.  Why,  I 
feel  so  anxious  to  have  that  Home  that  I  wish 
we  were  grown-up  now"  Betty  cried  enthusi- 
astically. 

"  Well  you've  got  to  begin  with  *  the  mus- 
tard-seed' you  know,  then  if  you  tend  and  care 
for  it  you  will  have  a  harvest,"  admonished 
Rod. 


io      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

The  texts  having  been  written  at  the  top  of 
the  paper,  the  contract  was  continued  with 
much  difficulty.  They  wrote  and  erased,  puz- 
zled and  spelled,  until,  after  great  effort,  an 
agreement  was  produced  bristling  with  legal 
terms  that  sounded  very  grand  to  them.  It 
read: 

"We,  Elizabeth  Dorand  and  Rodney  Al- 
vern,  hereby  do  contract  to  work  fora  Home 
of  Love's.  We  will  be  satisfied  with  a  small 
beginning  but  hope  it  will  grow  big  enough 
to  care  for  all  whom  Love  sends  to  us. 

"  We  agree  to  be  kind  and  give  love  to 
everyone,  and  to  use  any  money  given  us  for 
our  Society,  to  pay  expenses. 

"Manager:  Rodney  Alvern. 
"Matron:  Elizabeth  Dorand. 
"Membership  List. 


Finally  this  document  was  finished  to  their 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      11 

satisfaction,  rolled  up  and  a  red  ribbon  tied 
about  it.  Betty  and  Rod  then  took  it  to  Mrs. 
Alvern,  asking  her  to  place  it  safely  in  a 
drawer  of  her  desk. 

"  What  is  ij?  "  asked  she,  smiling.  "  May 
I  read  it  or  is  it  a  secret?  " 

"  It  will  be  all  right  for  mother  to  read  it, 
won't  it?"  asked  Rod  of  Betty. 

"Ye-es,"  reluctantly  answered  she,  "but  I 
don't  believe  you  ought  to  tell  others  of  some- 
thing you  propose  doing,  'specially  when 
you've  nothing  to  show." 

"  Never  mind,  children,"  said  Mrs.  Alvern. 
"  It  was  senseless  curiosity  that  prompted  me 
to  wonder  what  you  had  written." 

"  We'll  tell  you  all  about  it  just  as  soon  as 
we  think  proper  to  announce  it  publicly," 
Betty  assured  her. 

So  the  contract  was  placed  carefully  in  the 
desk  and  the  children  giving  Mrs.  Alvern  a 
hug,  ran  away. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  FIRST  DEPOSIT 

COON  after  the  contract  had  been  made, 
Mrs.  Dorand  decided  to  go  to  the  city  on 
a  shopping  trip,  and  planned  to  take  the  chil- 
dren to  Barnum's  circus  in  the  afternoon. 
Accordingly,  she  sent  Betty  over  to  Mrs.  Al- 
vern  with  a  note  inviting  Rod  to  go.  The 
two  children  stood  by  her  side  eagerly  watch- 
ing her  face  as  she  read  the  invitation. 

"  I  suppose  it  is  needless  to  ask  if  you  would 
like  to  go?"  asked  Rod's  mother,  laughing 
at  his  expression. 

"Oh,  wouldn't  I  though!"  exclaimed  Rod. 

"And  you  will  be  careful  not  to  cause  Mrs. 
Dorand  any  annoyance  while  she  shops?" 

"  Bet  and  I  will  be  as  good  as  lambs,"  pro- 
mised Rod. 

"Well,  then,  run  along  and  thank  Betty's 
mother." 

The  children  devoted  the  balance  of  the  day 
13 


I4      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

in  anticipation  of  the  wonders  to  be  seen  at 
the  circus.  Rod  brought  his  illustrated  book 
on  natural  history  to  the  arbor  where  Betty 
and  he  read  about  the  strange  animals  they  ex- 
pected to  see. 

Being  so  interested,  Rod  had  not  noticed 
Betty's  unusual  silence,  until  asking  a  ques- 
tion, he  looked  up  in  amazement  at  the  regret- 
ful tone  and  tearful  eyes. 

"  Do  you  think  we  ought  to  go,  Rod?"  said 
Betty. 

"Why  not?"  answered  he,  his  eyes  wide 
with  astonishment. 

"  Because  the  money  it  would  take  to  go 
there  could  be  put  in  the  box  to  start  our  So- 
ciety fund,"  replied  Betty,  growing  firmer  in 
her  conviction  as  Rod  seemed  doubtful. 

"  But  we  haven't  any  members  yet,  so  there 
is  no  need  for  the  money,"  mused  Rod  hesitat- 
ingly. 

"  I  think  this  is  a  problem  on  which  we  had 
better  ask  God's  advice,"  affirmed  Betty  de- 
cidedly. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      15 

Instead  of  replying,  Rod  went  to  the  house 
for  his  bible.  After  a  moment's  silence  the 
book  was  opened  at  these  words : 

"  God  is  not  unrighteous  to  forget  your 
work  and  labor  of  love." 

Rod  looked  at  Betty  questioningly? 

"  I  think  it  means  we  are  to  save  that  money 
as  there'll  be  a  need  for  it  soon,"  interpreted 
Betty. 

"  I  suppose  so,"  sighed  Rod,  regretfully. 

"  But,  Rod,  we  must  give  cheerfully,  not 
grudgingly,  if  we  expect  a  blessing  for  the 
gift,"  said  Betty,  rebuking  his  regret  while 
she  tried  to  smile  through  her  tears. 

"All  right;  we'll  sing  and  dance  with  joy," 
Rod  answered  rather  sarcastically.  "  I'll  go 
and  tell  mother  we're  not  going,  then  we'll 
run  over  to  ask  your  mother  if  we  may  have 
the  money  instead  of  the  treat." 

Mrs.  Alvern  asked  no  questions  when  told 
of  their  decision  about  the  circus,  but  Betty's 
mother  was  so  surprised  that  she  thought  it 
was  a  jest.  When  assured  that  the  renuncia- 


16      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

tion  was  for  a  good  purpose  she  took  her  purse 
and  counting  out  two  and  a  half  dollars  to 
each  child,  said: 

"One  dollar  each  for  railroad  fare;  fifty 
cents  for  the  circus  ticket  and  a  dollar  for  din- 
ner, including  other  expenses." 

Five  dollars  seemed  such  an  enormous 
amount  to  the  children  that  they  could  hardly 
believe  it  was  theirs.  They  hugged  Mrs. 
Dorand  until  she  gasped  breathlessly: 

"  Mercy!  Mercy!  Two  of  Barnum's  lit- 
tle bears  are  smothering  me." 

They  all  laughed  at  this,  making  Betty  and 
Rod  feel  better.  Taking  the  money,  they 
hurried  to  the  arbor  to  place  it  in  a  tin  safe 
which  Betty  had  begged  from  her  father. 
Rod  had  secured  an  old  account  book  from  his 
mother,  in  which  he  now  wrote  the  amount 
of  the  first  deposit. 

The  following  evening  Mollie,  the  maid, 
brought  Mrs.  Dorand  a  letter  which  the  post- 
man had  just  delivered. 

As  the  letter  was  opened  a  new  two-dollar 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      17 

bill  fell  out.  Reading  the  letter  through, 
Mrs.  Dorand  smiled  and  calling  the  children 
to  her  said: 

"  I've  just  received  a  letter  from  Aunt  Belle, 
in  which  she  invites  you  to  lunch  with  her  to- 
morrow and  go  to  the  circus  in  the  afternoon. 
She  writes  that  I  may  go  too,  provided  I  will 
escort  you  safely  to  her  house  in  time  for  the 
treat.  This  two-dollar  bill  was  sent  to  buy 
candy  on  the  train." 

Betty  and  Rod  looked  dumbfounded.  As 
the  demonstration  became  clear  to  them,  Rod 
flung  his  cap  in  the  air  shouting  "  Hurrah 
for  the  Society  " ;  while  Betty  danced  joyfully 
about  her  mother,  who  was  at  a  loss  to  under- 
stand what  was  meant  by  the  references  to  the 
Society. 

Then  the  whole  secret  of  their  plan  was  con- 
fided to  Mrs.  Dorand,  who  commended  the 
children's  willingness  to  appropriate  the  cir- 
cus money  to  their  Cause. 

"  I  think  it  is  a  lovely  idea,  but  I  can't  see 
how  it  will  work  out,"  said  she. 


i8      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"We  don't  know  either  because  God  hasn't 
told  us  yet,  but  we  will  find  out  when  the  time 
comes,"  replied  Betty,  trustfully. 

When  Mrs.  Alvern  had  been  told  about  the 
circus  invitation  Rod  also  told  her  what  the 
secret  paper  in  the  desk  was  for. 

"  Children,  I  have  the  feeling  that  your  So- 
ciety will  prove  a  blessing  to  many.  I,  for 
one,  will  pray  all  success  attend  the  endeavor. 
If  you  will  get  out  the  contract,  I'll  subscribe 
a  dollar  a  month  to  become  an  honorary  mem- 
ber." 

Mrs.  Alvern  wrote  her  name  under  the  Di- 
rectors'. 

"'Cause  you  see,"  explained  Betty,  "you 
aren't  a  real  member,  just  a  company  one,  to 
visit  us  once  in  a  while  but  not  to  work." 

Mrs.  Alvern  nodded  understandingly  and 
gave  Rod  a  dollar  which  he  placed  in  the 
bank  with  the  other  five. 

The  next  morning  Betty  and  Rod  were  up 
before  the  maids  had  begun  to  prepare  break- 
fast. Being  so  anxious  not  to  miss  the  train, 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      19 

they  advised  Mrs.  Dorand  not  to  wait  for 
breakfast.  Laughing  heartily  she  remarked: 

"  Why,  then  you  would  have  to  draw 
money  from  your  Fund  to  buy  some  breakfast 
in  the  city,  while  here  you  may  have  it 
free." 

The  very  idea  of  touching  any  money  be- 
longing to  the  Society,  quieted  their  impa- 
tience. 

"  Rod,"  whispered  Betty,  as  the  train  car- 
ried them  on  the  way,  "  I  wouldn't  hurt 
mother's  feelings  for  the  world,  but  I  know 
Aunty  will  give  us  a  jollier  time  than  mother 
would.  Since  my  cousins  went  away  to  be 
with,God,  Aunty  loves  to  have  us  visit  her." 

One  dollar  of  the  lollipop  money  had  been 
used  for  tickets  while  the  other  dollar  was  in 
Rod's  pocket.  As  the  man  with  a  basket  of 
sweets  went  through  the  car,  Mrs.  Dorand 
turned  to  the  children,  saying: 

"  Do  you  wish  to  have  any  candy?  " 

Betty  closing  her  mouth  firmly,  nudged 
Rod.  He,  glancing  at  her  mouth,  said: 


20      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  No,  thank  you.  We'll  keep  the  dollar  urv 
til  later." 

"Don't  you  think  it  would  be  right  for  us 
to  buy  some  candy?"  asked  Rod,  wonder- 
ingly. 

"Of  course!"  replied  Betty,  "but  I  kind 
a-felt  as  if  we  would  want  it  for  some  other 
cause.  I  don't  just  see  why,  myself." 

Lunch  was  ready  when  they  reached  Aunt 
Belle's.  After  greetings  were  exchanged, 
they  went  directly  to  the  dining-room. 

"  I  suppose  you  ate  so  much  candy  this 
morning  that  you  will  not  feel  like  eating  the 
good  things  I  have  for  you,"  said  Aunty  as 
they  took  their  seats. 

"  I'm  so  hungry  I  could  eat  the  flowers  off 
of  the  dishes,"  answered  Betty  directly. 

"  I  feel  so  light  I  believe  I  can  fly.  Any- 
way, I  could  eat  boiled  onions,"  said  Rod. 

As  onions  were  the  abomination  of  Rod's 
otherwise  healthy  appetite,  they  all  laughed 
heartily. 

Then  Aunty  was  told  that  part  of  the  candy 
money  was  used  for  railroad  tickets. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      21 

"  Tickets!  "  exclaimed  Aunty,  in  surprise. 
"You  don't  mean  to  say  they  paid  for  their 
own  fare?" 

"  Yes,  they  did,"  answered  Mrs.  Dorand, 
smiling  at  Aunt  Belle's  reproving  look. 
"  Children,  tell  Aunty  'why." 

Then  Aunty  was  told  how  the  idea  came  to 
them  to  do  something  for  their  Father;  about 
the  contract;  how  their  first  money  was  depos- 
ited; and  what  they  hoped  to  do  when  they 
were  "  grown-ups! " 

Aunty  listened  attentively,  then  leaving  the 
room  returned  presently  and  gave  Rod  a  check 
for  five  dollars. 

("I  want  you  to  enroll  me  as  an  honorary 
member  too,"  said  she,  "  in  memory  of  Jack 
and  Dot  who  would  have  delighted  in  joining 
you  in  this  work.  I  will  pay  you  five  dollars 
every  month,  for  I  really  believe  it  will  be 
needed." 

They  thanked  Aunty,  Betty  adding: 

"  When  we  send  the  monthly  receipt,  we'll 
tell  you  just  what  we  are  doing  in  our  work." 


CHAPTER   III 

JOE 

F  course  everyone  has  seen  a  circus  with 
all  its  wonderful  sights,  like  Betty  and 
Rod  saw. 

Aunty  bought  so  much  candy  and  popcorn 
while  taking  them  to  all  the  side-shows,  that 
Mrs.  Dorand  laughingly  called  "halt." 

When  they  finally  came  out  to  the  carriage, 
they  were  so  laden  with  pictures  and  songs  for 
the  boys  at  home,  while  Aunty  held  balloons 
and  souvenirs  for  them,  that  the  coachman 
hid  a  broad  grin  back  of  his  hand. 

When  they  reached  the  ferry-boat  and  were 
homeward  bound,  the  children  chattered  so 
joyously  about  the  day's  fun,  that  the  other 
passengers  smiled  in  sympathetic  amuse- 
ment. 

Presently  a  little  boy  about  Betty's  age  crept 
up  to  listen.  He  was  ragged  and  dirty,  while 

23 


24      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

here  and  there  through  his  tatters  were 
glimpses  of  an  emaciated  little  body.  Watch- 
ing Betty's  face  with  its  bright  blue  eyes  and 
ruddy  curls,  the  boy's  intent  gaze  attracted 
her  notice. 

Without  hesitation,  Betty  slid  down  from 
the  seat  and  taking  his  hand  led  him  to  her 
mother. 

He  bashfully  hung  his  head  and  scuffled  his 
feet  while  Betty  turning  to  Rod  said : 

"  Let's  divide  our  pictures  and  candy  with 
him." 

"  And  give  him  the  dollar,"  eagerly  sug- 
gested Rod.  "  Maybe  he's  the  *  idea  '  we  were 
keeping  the  money  for." 

"Where  are  your  friends,  little  boy?" 
asked  Mrs.  Dorand  kindly. 

'Ain't  got  none,  ma'am,"  stammered  the 
boy. 

"Then  where  were  you  going?"  continued 
she. 

"  I  didn't  know,  ma'am.  I  jus'  found  an 
ole  ferry  ticket  so  I  thought  I'd  go  acrosst  to 


I  thought  I'd  go  acrosst  to  where  the  trees  an'  birds  are  " 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      25 

where  the  trees  an'  birds  are.     Pete's  there, 
workin'  I  guess." 

"Who's 'Pete'?"  asked  Rod. 

"  He's  my  fren'  what  used  to  sell  papers  on 


our  corner." 


"Where's  your  home?  How  do  you  live?  " 
questioned  Rod  eagerly. 

"Won't  your  family  be  worried?"  asked 
Betty  anxiously. 

"  I  only  got  a  big  brother  what  was  good  to 
me.  The  cop  took  him  one  day  'cause  he  took 
some  bread  for  me  off'  a  wagon.  We  was 
awful  hungry  that  day,"  the  child  said,  pite- 
ously. 

"  Have  you  no  parents,  little  one?"  asked 
Mrs.  Dorand,  whose  motherly  heart  was 
stirred  by  the  expression  of  the  thin  face  be- 
side her. 

"  My  brother  toF  me  our  father  an'  mother 
was  dead  a  long  time.  Pete  let  me  sleep  with 
him  after  Brother  was  tooken  away,  but  Pete's 
went  to  the  place  where  the  grass  grows,  to 
work  fer  a  man.  I  ain't  se'ed  him  in  so  long 


26      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

I  wanted  to  go  to  his  place  to  be  with  him  a 
little  while." 

Betty  turned  to  Rod  with  an  inspira- 
tion. 

"  Let's  ask  mother  to  buy  him  a  ticket  with 
our  dollar  to  take  him  with  us?" 

Mrs.  Dorand  thought  rapidly  for  a  moment 
as  Betty  finished  speaking,  then  asked: 

"  Would  you  like  to  go  to  the  country  for  a 
few  days,  little  boy?  " 

Instead  of  answering,  the  child  burst  into 
grateful  tears.  Kindness  had  been  unknown 
to  him  except  from  his  brother  and  Pete. 

As  the  boat  was  entering  the  slip,  Mrs.  Do- 
rand  felt  embarrassed  to  find  a  circle  of  spec- 
tators gathered  about.  Suddenly  a  gentleman 
placed  a  dollar  in  his  hat  and  gave  it  to  Rod, 
calling  out: 

"Anyone  who  has  witnessed  this  scene  can 
assist  this  child  by  contributing  to  his  welfare 
now.  Pass  the  hat  around,  my  boy,  and  find 
what  tender  hearts  beat  under  these  rough 
clothes." 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      27 

The  audience  responded  generously  while 
others,  in  passing,  ascertained  the  cause  of  the 
collection  and  added  their  contributions.  By 
this  time  Mrs.  Dorand  was  laughing  nerv- 
ously, while  Betty  patted  the  boy's  hand  re- 
assuringly and  Rod  eagerly  tried  to  reach  the 
money  a  score  of  people  held  out  to  him. 
The  boat  had  long  been  docked  before  they 
finished. 

Rod  gave  the  hat  filled  with  money  to  the 
gentleman  who  carried  it  carefully  with  both 
hands.  Betty  followed  close  behind  him 
watching  the  ground  to  see  that  no  money  was 
dropped.  Mrs.  Dorand,  holding  the  boy's 
hand,  walked  beside  the  gentleman,  explain- 
ing why  Betty  and  Rod  were  interested  in  this 
boy  whom  they  considered  a  protege  for  their 
Home. 

Arriving  in  the  waiting-room,  the  man 
rolled  up  the  bills  and  handed  them  to  Mrs. 
Dorand,  emptying  the  coin  into  her  shopping- 
bag. 

Turning  to  the  boy  he  asked  kindly: 


"What  is  your  name?  " 

"Joey  Bruce,"  answered  the  child. 

"Well,  Joe,"  the  gentleman  said,  "these 
kind  people  will  take  you  to  the  grass  and 
trees  where  the  birds  sing.  If  you  are  good 
you  can  be  happy,  but  if  you  are  naughty  you 
will  lose  your  friends." 

Asking  Mrs.  Dorand  to  communicate  with 
him  should  an  occasion  arise  for  further  help, 
the  man  proffered  his  card. 

"  Archer  Hilman,  Councilor-at-law,"  read 
Mrs.  Dorand  with  some  surprise. 

"  I  am  Mrs.  Steven  Dorand.  My  husband 
has  an  old  college  friend  whose  name  is  the 
same  as  yours.  I  never  met  him  but  his  let- 
ters always  interest  me.  He  lives  in  Califor- 
nia and  it  is  a  long  time  since  we  have  heard 
from  him." 

"  Can  it  be  possible  that  you  are  the  wife  of 
my  dear  old  friend  Steve  Dorand,  who  lives 
inM-  -?" 

"I  am!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Dorand,  "How 
strange  that  we  should  meet  in  this  manner," 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      29 

and  calling  the  children  who  were  interested 
with  Joe,  she  introduced  them. 

After  some  moments  of  interested  conversa- 
tion, Mr.  Hilman  said  he  left  California  to 
travel  in  Europe,  returning  to  begin  business 
in  New  York. 

"You  will  be  surprised  to  hear  I  am  mar- 
ried since  last  I  wrote  you,"  said  he. 

"Oh,  how  nice!  I  always  said  you  were 
.too  good  to  be  alone,"  answered  Mrs.  Dorand. 
"  Won't  you  bring  your  wife  to  visit  us  and  be- 
come acquainted?" 

"  We  will  certainly  come  with  pleasure,  and 
I  shall  be  happy  to  meet  Steve  again." 

As  they  walked  toward  the  train  Mrs.  Do- 
rand  was  still  speaking  of  the  unusual  meeting 
and  Mr.  Hilman  said  earnestly: 

"  When  we  understand  the  Law  of  Good, 
every  individual  expression  drawn  from  the 
Almighty  Source,  brings  recompense;  some- 
times a  peace,  other  times  a  joy.  For  the  love 
we  reflected  this  waif  to-day  we  are  repaid 
with  a  very  great  pleasure." 


30      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"Your  reasoning  reminds  me  of  a  lady  the 
children  met  at  the  sea-shore  last  summer," 
said  Mrs.  Dorand. 

Mr.  Hilman,  placing  them  on  their  train, 
said  good-bye,  as  he  took  a  different  train  to 
reach  S where  he  was  bound. 

"  What  a  delightful  day  we  have  had,"  re- 
marked Mrs.  Dorand  on  the  homeward  jour- 
ney. "  Father  will  be  so  happy  to  hear  the 
news  of  his  old  friend." 

"  That's  because  we  went  with  God's  help 
for  our  pleasure,"  answered  Betty.  "  If  we 
had  been  selfish  about  the  Society's  money  we 
wouldn't  have  had  such  a  treat." 

"  And  we  couldn't  have  taken  Joe,  either," 
added  Rod. 

Joe,  seated  by  the  window,  his  hands  and 
lap  rilled  with  candy  and  pictures,  thought  he 
was  dreaming.  He  heaved  great  sighs  of 
heart-joy  as  the  train  whizzed  over  rivers  and 
ravines,  through  fields  and  meadows,  and  past 
dear  little  cottages  surrounded  by  flowers  and 
trees. 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      31 

"  Mother,"  whispered  Betty,  fearful  of  dis- 
turbing Joe,  "  what  shall  we  do  with  him 
when  we  get  home?  " 

"  I  thought  we'd  consult  father  and  Mrs. 
Alvern ;  until  then  we'll  allow  the  child  to  fill 
his  hungry  soul  with  God's  beautiful  pictures 
of  the  country." 

As  they  came  from  the  train,  several  ac- 
quaintances bowed  to  Mrs.  Dorand,  wonder- 
ing where  under  the  sun  she  picked  up  such  a 
forlorn  little  object  of  humanity.  Joe  was  so 
preoccupied  with  everything  about  him,  that 
he  never  noticed  the  curious  glances.  He  was 
not  the  same  boy  who  but  a  short  hour  before 
was  so  homesick  and  miserable.  He  was  go- 
ing to  stay  in  the  country  with  the  birds  and 
flowers  just  as  long  as  he  was  good.  He  was 
so  quiet,  the  children  wondered  if  he  were 
unhappy,  but  it  was  the  cup  of  overflowing 
joy  that  made  him  speechless. 

When  the  party  reached  home  Rod  asked: 

"  Can  Joe  come  with  me?  I've  got  lots  of 
clothes  just  his  size." 


32      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  I  think  it  will  be  best  for  him  to  go  with 
me,  while  you  explain  to  your  mother  about 
him,"  answered  Mrs.  Dorand.  "  When  he 
is  clean  we  will  bring  him  over  to  talk  about 
plans.  I'll  bring  the  money  too,  so  you  can 
count  and  deposit  it  in  the  Society's  bank  for 
Joe." 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE  FIRST  REAL  MEMBER 

A  T  the  supper-table  that  evening  Rod 
talked  so  much  of  the  day's  experiences 
that  he  scarcely  found  time  to  eat.  His 
mother  and  Marion  were  interested  in  the 
story  about  Joe  and  were  planning  what 
would  be  best  to  do  for  him,  when  Rod  inter- 
rupted. 

"  Mother,  you  see  Joe  is  our  problem.  As 
long  as  God's  Love  sent  him  to  us,  I  believe 
we'll  be  shown  what  to  do  about  it." 

As  Rod  finished  speaking,  Dinah  came  in 
with  the  dessert. 

"  Please,  Missus  Al'ern,  Jim,  he  say  kin  he 
speak  wif  you'se  a  minnit?  When  you'all  is 
done,  he  mean." 

"  Why,  yes,  Dinah.  Ask  him  to  come  right 
in,"  replied  Mrs.  Alvern. 

Jim  was  a  quiet,  industrious  young  man  who 

33 


34      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

had  been  with  the  Alvern  family  since  Rod 
was  a  babe.  He  took  charge  of  the  garden, 
cared  for  the  horse,  and  did  the  heavy  chores. 
It  was  well  known  that  he  and  Mollie,  the 
Scotch  maid  at  Dorand's,  were  saving  money 
to  start  house-keeping  in  the  cottage  at  the  end 
of  the  lane,  where  Jim  now  occupied  a  room. 

"  Good-evening,  Jim,"  said  Mrs.  Alvern  as 
he  came  in. 

There  was  an  unusual  air  of  embarrassment 
about  him  as,  endeavoring  to  speak  several 
times,  he  hesitated  and  cleared  his  throat. 
Mrs.  Alvern  guessed  the  cause  intuitively. 

"  Jim,  have  you  news  concerning  Mollie 
and  yourself?  "  asked  she,  smiling. 

"  How  did  you  hear  of  it?"  asked  Jim  in 
surprise.  "We  just  decided,  so  I  came  right 
over  to  tell  you." 

"  I  didn't  hear  of  it,  I  guessed  it  from  your 
face." 

Jim  rubbed  his  brow  as  if  to  erase  the  tell- 
tale message.  They  all  laughed,  causing  him 
to  feel  more  at  ease,  as  he  continued : 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      35 

"  I  got  a  letter  to-day  from  a  lawyer,  tellin' 
me  a  relation  died  in  the  old  country,  leavin' 
me  a  hundred  pounds.  I  went  over  to  tell 
Mollie  and  Mr.  Dorand  said  he'd  'tend  to  the 
legal  matters  for  me.  I'll  probably  have  the 
money  in  a  few  weeks,  so  we'll  not  be  delayin' 
our  house-keepin'." 

"  I  congratulate  you  on  the  good  fortune, 
Jim,  and  wish  you  all  joy,"  said  Mrs.  Alvern, 
rising  and  shaking  his  hand. 

"  So  do  I,  Jim,"  mumbled  Rod,  with  his 
mouth  full  of  cake. 

"  But,  Jim,"  asked  Marion  in  a  tone  of  an- 
xiety, "what  shall  we  do  without  you?  And 
how  can  the  Dorands  spare  Mollie?" 

"Well,  that's  another  thing  I  wanted  to  talk 
about,"  answered  Jim.  "  We  be  thinkin'  that 
if  we  live  in  the  cottage  yonder,  I  would  be 
here  just  the  same,  and  Mollie  could  break  in 
a  new  girl  for  Dorands.  She's  thinkin'  of 
sendin'  to  the  old  country  for  her  sister  to  come 


over." 


"  Jim,  you're  so  thoughtful  for  us  that  I 


36      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

shall  gladly  have  you  live  at  the  cottage  free 
of  rent,"  said  Mrs.  Alvern. 

"Mother,  wouldn't  it  be  dandy  if  Mollie 
took  Joe  to  live  with  them  for  a  time?  "  asked 
Rod  suddenly.  "Maybe  Jim  was  led  in  to 
tell  his  news  so  we  could  decide  about  Joe." 

Jim  was  told  the  little  waif's  story  and  asked 
what  he  thought  of  Rod's  suggestion. 

"  I  saw  the  little  feller  over  at  Dorand's," 
answered  Jim,  smiling  at  the  remembrance  of 
Mollie  fussing  over  the  boy.  "  Mollie  took 
a  fancy  to  the  starved  little  kid,  and  is  washin' 
and  fixin'  him  up  as  pert  as  a  bantam." 

"  Hurrah  for  Mollie!  "  exclaimed  Rod,  "  I 
know  she'll  take  him." 

"  Sure  she  will,"  said  Jim,  "  an'  so'll  I.  He 
can  sleep  in  the  little  dormer  room  upstairs  in 
the  cottage.  I'll  fix  it  up  to-morrow." 

"Just  the  thing,"  exclaimed  Marion. 

"Could  you  arrange  a  cot  for  to-night?" 
asked  Mrs.  Alvern,  appealingly. 

"  Yes'm,"  responded  Jim,  ever  ready  to  help 
some  one.  "  We've  got  a  cot  in  the  store-room 
that'll  do." 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      37 

Jim  left  the  room  as  footsteps  sounded  on 
the  verandah  and  Rod  ran  out  to  open  the 
door,  calling  over  his  shoulder: 

"Hurry  up,  Marion!     Here  they  come!" 

As  Mrs.  Alvern  and  Marion  came  out,  they 
met  their  friends  in  the  hall.  Joe  endeavored 
to  keep  back  of  the  others,  but  Betty  pulled  at 
his  sleeve  until  Rod  went  to  him  and  led  them 
to  the  sitting-room. 

Joe  was  transformed,  with  shining  face,  hair 
smoothly  brushed,  and  dressed  in  some  of 
Walter's  clothes  that  were  fresh  and  clean  but 
four  sizes  too  large  for  him.  Mrs.  Alvern, 
who  had  been  scrutinizing  the  lad's  features, 
seemed  satisfied. 

"You  just  ought  to  have  seen  Mollie  take 
charge  of  Joe,"  remarked  Betty  in  an  injured 
tone  of  voice.  "  She  thinks  she  has  a  right  to 
scrub  him  hard  enough  to  hurt." 

"  Dearie,"  replied  her  mother  reprovingly, 
"you  know  it  was  Mollie's  love  that  saw  Joe 
needed  the  bath  which  has  made  such  a  nice 
boy  of  him.  We  all  feel  grateful  to  her  for 
responding  to  the  child's  neglected  condition." 


38      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"Yes,  indeed,"  added  Mrs.  Alvern,  "and 
you  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  Jim  offered  to 
take  Joe  to  the  cottage  to  live." 

After  a  long  consultation  which  included 
all  present,  it  was  decided  that  Joe  should 
have  a  room  at  the  cottage  and  take  his  meals 
at  Dorand's,  with  Mollie. 

The  children  were  amazed  to  find  the 
money  contributed  for  his  benefit  amounted 
to  twenty-seven  dollars  and  forty  cents.  Rod 
placed  it  carefully  in  trie-Society's  bank  while 
Betty  made  an  entry  of  the  sum  in  a  small  ac- 
count book.  Then  the  contract  was  brought 
in  for  Joe  to  sign  his  name  as  a  member.  He 
couldn't  write,  but  he  printed  it  with  a 
cramped  hand. 

"  I  haven't  been  asked  to  .become  an  honor- 
ary member  but  I  would  like  to.  I'll  sub- 
scribe a  dollar  a  month,"  said  Mrs.  Dorand. 
So  her  name  was  inscribed  under  Aunt  Belle's 
and  another  dollar  added  to  the  general  fund. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  SEED  TAKES  ROOT 

A       FEW  days  after  Joe  came,  Dr.  Dorand 

received  a  letter  from  his  old  friend, 

Archer  Hilman,  saying  he  and  his  wife  would 

visit  them  the  following  week  if  convenient. 

Tuesday  afternoon  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hilman 
drove  up  in  a  station  cab,  but  Dr.  Dorand  was 
enduring  one  of  his  attacks  when  the  pain  in 
his  back  almost  unbalanced  his  mind.  Mrs. 
Dorand  welcomed  the  visitors,  explaining  her 
husband's  absence. 

Mr.  Hilman  expressed  a  desire  to  see  his 
friend,  so,  leaving  his  wife  in  the  library,  he 
followed  Mrs.  Dorand. 

Rod  and  Betty  had  been  playing  croquet  on 
the  back  lawn,  but  tiring  of  that,  Rod  sug- 
gested trying  a  new  game  Walter  had 
brought  home.  Betty  acquiesced,  skipping 
off  to  the  library  to  fetch  it.  Upon  entering 
the  door  she  stood  stock-still  with  surprise. 

39 


40      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Mrs.  Hilman  was  equally  astonished  but  re- 
covering, said: 

"Why,  my  dear  little  sea-shore  friend! 
We  never  dreamed  we  should  meet  again  in 
this  lovely  way,  did  we?  " 

"No,  indeed!"  exclaimed  Betty.  "But 
how  did  you  find  us?  " 

"  Haven't  you  heard?  I  am  Mrs.  Hil- 
man," replied  she. 

"Oh!  That's  too  good  to  be  true!"  cried 
Betty,  clapping  her  hands  in  delight.  "  Are 
you  the  lady  that  married  the  lovely  man  who 
helped  Joe  find  our  Society's  Home?" 

"  Yes.  I  heard  all  about  it,  and  that  is  one 
of  the  reasons  I  was  so  eager  to  visit  children 
who  are  so  full  of  Love  that  it  must  be  ex- 
pressed in  such  broad  channels.  But  I  did 
not  know  your  name  at  the  beach,  so,  of 
course,  I  never  thought  you  were  the  two 
Love-Workers  my  husband  told  me  of. 
Where  is  your  little  brother?" 

"  He  isn't  my  brother,"  laughed  Betty,  "  he 
is  my  partner.  He's  just  outside  waiting  for 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      41 

a  game.  I'll  call  him.  I  shan't  tell  him 
who's  here,  so's  he'll  be  s'prised  when  he  finds 
who  you  are." 

Betty  ran  out  laughing  gleefully. 

Rod  was  as  amazed  and  delighted  as  Betty 
could  have  desired.  The  three  friends  were 
deeply  interested  with  each  other  when  Mrs. 
Dorand  returned. 

"I  do  declare!"  exclaimed  she  from  the 
doorway.  "You  children  are  certainly  not 
shy.  I  never  saw  strangers  develope  a  friend- 
ship as  rapidly  as  this." 

A  joyous  laugh  answered  her  as,  joining  the 
trio,  she  heard  their  story  and  was  much  sur- 
prised. 

"We  might  have  enjoyed  a  year  more  of 
pleasant  friendship,  had  we  met  at  the  Shore," 
regretfully  said  Mrs.  Dorand. 

"  We  have  all  eternity  for  friendship,  my 
dear,"  replied  Mrs.  Hilman  sweetly.  "  Last 
summer  I  was  staying  at  the  cottage  of  an  old 
school-mate,  for  a  few  days,  prior  to  coming 
to  New  York  where  I  was  married.  Immed- 


42      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

lately  after,  we  went  abroad  to  meet  my  sis- 
ter's family.  Even  had  you  met  me  then,  you 
would  not  have  known  I  was  to  be  the  wife 
of  your  husband's  old  friend." 

Mrs.  Dorand  then  spoke  Qf  the  way  Mrs. 
Hilman  had  explained  the  scriptural  Truth  to 
the  children,  which  they  had  since  tried  to 
follow. 

"  I  never  thought  the  few  seeds  of  Truth 
planted  that  day  would  bring  out  such  sweet 
buds  of  promise,"  said  Mrs.  Hilman  happily. 
"  Our  pathway  is  made  beautiful  if  we  but  fol- 
low God's  leading." 

"Of  course  they  do  not  remember  every- 
thing you  told  them,"  said  Mrs.  Dorand,  "  but 
the  substance  of  your  faith  and  teaching  re- 
mains in  their  minds.  I  have  often  wished  / 
could  hear  some  of  your  religion." 

Mrs.  Hilman  eagerly  gave  of  her  under- 
standing of  Truth,  as  taught  in  Christian  Sci- 
ence, answering  many  questions  of  her  pupil, 
until  Mrs.  Dorand  sighed  as  a  load  of  doubt 
vanished. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      43 

"  How  wonderful  is  this  light  about  God, 
with  even  the  glimpse  I  have.  What  differ- 
ent lives  can  be  lived,"  she  said. 

When  Mr.  Hilman  came  in  the  room  and 
heard  of  the  children's  acquaintance  with  his 
wife,  he  said  smiling  t 

"  I'm  becoming  accustomed  to  pleasant  sur- 
prises." Then  turning  to  Mrs.  Dorand,  he 
added,  "  I  have  started  Steve  on  the  highroad 
to  health  and  happiness.  I  think  we  came  on 
a  mission,  Penelope,  instead  of  a  visit." 

The  meeting  of  the  old  friends  after  years 
of  separation  had  been  inexpressibly  touching. 

"Arch,  you  haven't  changed  a  hair,"  said 
Dr.  Dorand,  when  he  had  recovered  from 
the  joyful  surprise.  His  voice  trembled  as  he 
added  hopelessly,  "  I  wish  you  could  say  the 
same  of  me.  I'm  down  and  out  for  good." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  saying  you  are 
down  and  out  for  good?  Don't  you  know 
Good  is  never  down  and  out?"  asked  Mr. 
Hilman  earnestly. 


44      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  Joke  all  you  want  to  old  fellow;  you  al- 
ways did,"  answered  Dr.  Dorand.  "  I  suppose 
it  is  just  as  well  to  laugh  as  cry  over  our  trou- 
bles." 

"  I'm  not  joking,  dear  friend.  I'm  deeply 
in  earnest.  We  have  not  met  since  college 
days  and  instead  of  the  great  stalwart  man  I 
always  see  in  my  mental  vision,  you  wish  me 
to  believe  you  are  a  wreck  from  disease  and 
suffering.  If  you  had  written  me  of  this  I 
should  have  sent  you  Hope  and  Truth  as  I 
found  it."  Mr.  Hilman  spoke  with  such  sin- 
cerity that  it  thrilled  his  suffering  hearer. 

"  I  do  not  want  to.  fill  you  with  a  recital  of 
my  miseries,"  Dr.  Dorand  replied  with  a  wan 
smile.  "  I've  been  afflicted  so  long  now,  that 
I  try  to  forget  it  except  when  these  attacks 
come  on.  Let's  drop  the  subject  if  you  want 
to  enjoy  your  visit." 

"  Steve,  do  you  remember  when  we  were  at 
school,  why  we  chummed  together  without 
any  scrapping?"  asked  Mr.  Hilman  appar- 
ently irrelevant  of  his  friend's  preceding 
words. 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      45 

"  I  know  we  *  hit  it  off'  pretty  good  even  if 
you  did  just  as  you  liked.  I  generally  fol- 
lowed my  own  inclination  too,"  answered  Dr. 
Dorand,  smiling  reminiscently. 

"  That's  exactly  what  I  wanted  you  to  say," 
declared  his  friend  emphatically.  "Now 
stick  to  those  tactics  and  we'll  hit  it  off  again. 
I'm  going  to  enjoy  this  visit  in  my  own 
way." 

There  followed  an  interval  of  silence  during 
which  Mr.  Hilman  sat  with  closed  eyes  while 
his  friend  gazed  intently  from  the  window. 
The  former  was  the  first  to  continue  the  con- 
versation. 

"  Steve,  why  are  you  on  that  couch?" 

"Well,  Archer,"  answered  Dr.  Dorand 
seriously,  "  more  than  six  years  ago  a  fright- 
ened horse  kicked  me,  striking  a  nerve-center 
on  my  spine  that  put  me  out  of  business,  as 
you  see." 

"  No,  I  won't  see!  That  is  why  I  led  up  to 
this.  I  suppose  you'd  think  that  I  was  crazy 
if  I  told  you  that  it's  unconsciousness  that 


46      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

keeps  you  there.  That's  what  it  is,  not  spinel 
Wake  up  old  chap  and  find  yourself." 

"Why,"  said  Dr.  Dorand  breathless  with 
amazement,  "  what  are  you  talking  of?" 

"  Each  and  every  good  act  we  do  brings  us 
nearer  to  Omnipotent  Principle.  For  in- 
stance : — You  and  I,  college  friends — My  go- 
ing to  California  in  business — my  accident 
while  there — meeting  old  friends  who  knew 
the  Truth — my  own  awakening — my  coming 
to  New  York — my  meeting  your  wife  at  the 
ferry — my  visit  here — your  coming  into  the 
Truth — now  can  you  see  the  wondrous  plan?" 
asked  Mr.  Hilman  fervently. 

"You  speak  the  way  my  little  daughter 
does  I"  exclaimed  his  friend.  "She  told  me 
of  a  lady  at  the  beach  who  taught  her  such 
beautiful  truths.  She  often  reads  from  the 
Scriptures  and  her  understanding  of  the  Bible 
struck  me  as  original  instead  of  true." 

"  You  should  thank  God  that  your  child  has 
the  Truth  in  her  youth,"  said  Mr.  Hilman. 

"  Tell  me,  Archer,"  asked  Dr.  Dorand  after 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      47 

a  short  pause,  "you  mentioned  an  accident? 
You  never  wrote  of  it." 

*  "  I  never  think  of  it  now,  but  for  your  good 
I'll  tell  you.     About  five  years  ago  I  was  in- 
jured in  a   railroad   crash.     My  leg   was  so 
badly  crushed  that  septisemia  set  in.     Special- 
ists ordered  amputation,  but  my  brother,  who 
was  a  young  surgeon  in  the  hospital  at  that 
time,  interfered,  saying: 

"  Not  yet!  With  his  clean  blood  and  nerve 
to  back  it  up,  he'll  pull  through." 

"  I  seconded  his  decision  by  saying  I  would 
rather  be  dead  with  two  legs  than  drag  out  an 
existence  with  one.  We  were  termed 
'crazy'  by  the  doctors  who  deemed  it  neces- 
sary to  wash  their  hands  of  the  case.  In  a 
month  I  had  recovered  far  enough  to  undergo 
an  operation.  My  brother  having  engaged 
the  services  of  a  well-known  surgeon-friend 
joined,  set  and  wired  the  various  fragments  of 
bones.  I  was  kept  in  plaster  for  months,  suf- 

*  An   account  of  the   author's    own   healing   in    Christian 
Science. 


48      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

fering  such  agony  as  defies  description.  Then 
they  fitted  a  steel  brace  to  the  useless  member 
and  in  about  a  year's  time  I  was  able  to  get 
about  on  crutches.  But  my  days  were  so  full 
of  pain  and  despair  that  I  decided  to  end 
them. 

"  One  evening,  after  an  unusually  despond- 
ent day,  as  I  was  writing  some  last  letters,  I 
seemed  to  hear  someone  call  my  name.  I 
opened  the  door  of  my  apartment  but  could 
see  no  one.  I  looked  out  of  the  window  and 
searched  the  room  thoroughly,  even  opening 
the  clothes-closet.  In  slamming  to  the  closet 
door,  a  book  fell  from  the  shelf.  Stooping  to 
pick  it  up  I  found  it  was  an  old  bible  my 
mother  had  left  me.  Thinking  it  was  custom- 
ary before  ending  one's  life  to  read  scripture, 
I  opened  the  book  at  the  words,  'Neither 
yield  ye  your  members  as  instruments  of  un- 
righteousness unto  sin;  but  yield  yourselves 
unto  God,  as  those  that  are  alive  from  the 
dead,  and  your  members  as  instruments  of 
righteousness  unto  God.' 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      49 

"I  read  different  parts  of  the  Bible  that 
seemed  to  open  at  verses  meant  for  me.  It 
stirred  my  being  so,  that  I  dressed  and  taking 
my  crutches  went  out. 

"  Seldom  venturing  out  after  dark,  I  made 
no  note  of  the  direction  in  which  I  went. 
Turning  a  corner,  I  was  halted  by  a  crowd  of 
people  coming  from  a  church.  I  watched 
them,  being  struck  by  the  expressions  of  joy 
and  peace  in  their  faces.  As  a  lame  man  on 
crutches  passed  me,  his  face  caught  my  atten- 
tion: it  beamed  with  hope  and  thanksgiving. 
I  stood  there  thinking  of  the  scriptural  lines 
I  had  read  when  a  voice  called  out  at  my 
elbow. 

"'Archer  Hilman,  as  I  live!  But  what  on 
earth  are  you  doing  in  this  plight?' 

"  I  turned  quickly  about  to  have  my  hand 
shaken  like  a  pump-handle. 

"'Penelope  Wilson!  Why!!'  was  all  I 
could  gasp. 

"  She  was  a  playmate  of  mine  whom  I  had 
not  seen  since  the  country  school-days.  She 


50      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

introduced  her  married  sister,  and  a  number 
of  friends,  to  me. 

"  '  Did  the  church  have  a  sociable  to-night? ' 
I  asked,  seeing  the  groups  of  joyous  and  happy 
people  with  the  music  and  lights  in  the  back- 
ground. 

"'Oh,  no,  laughed  Penelope,  'just  our 
regular  mid-week  meeting.  It  was  unusually 
blessed  this  evening.  That  is  why  we  are  so 
happy.' 

"  I  looked  at  her  in  amazement.  She  fairly 
radiated  life  and  joy.  It  was  impossible  to  see 
her  and  retain  any  idea  of  pessimistic  dying.  I 
was  sure  she  must  be  about  my  age,  but  she  ap- 
peared as  youthful  as  any  girl.  She  gave  me 
her  card  with  the  address  of  her  sister,  beg- 
ging me  to  call  soon. 

"  Well,  old  boy,  to  cut  it  short,  I  did  call. 
Then  I  called  again,  until  I  was  there  most 
of  the  time.  I  went  to  church  regularly  with 
the  family  and  began  a  systematic  study  of 
Christian  Science  and  in  a  few  weeks  I  was 
walking  as  well  as  ever.  All  my  troubles  have 


1  gone  a-dancing '  and  last  summer  Pen  and 
I  were  married! " 

"Arch,  you  astonish  me!"  Dr.  Dorand 
managed  to  gasp.  "Did  Christian  Science 
accomplish  this  miracle?" 

"  No  miracle,  Steve,  just  the  same  Truth 
as  practised  by  our  Saviour,  taught  and 
demonstrated  to  this  age  through  this  little 
book,"  said  Mr.  Hilman,  drawing  from  his 
pocket  a  copy  of  Science  and  Health,  with 
key  to  the  scriptures,  by  Mary  Baker  G.  Eddy. 

Dr.  Dorand,  taking  the  book,  turned  over 
its  pages  curiously. 

"  You  will  find  it  is  Jesus  Christ's  doctrine 
of  over-coming  sin,  sickness  and  death,"  said 
Mr.  Hilman  impressively.  "  Long  lost,  but 
re-discovered  in  the  Scriptures  and  re-written 
in  plain  language  by  our  dear  Leader." 

"  I  don't  see  how  this  could  be  done  by  a 
mortal  the  same  as  you  or  I?"  questioned  Dr. 
Dorand. 

"  Don't  bother  about  that  now,  Steve.  Just 
follow  this  teaching  and  you  will  be  cured. 


52      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

If  all  the  world  knew  and  lived  the  Truth  as 
here  set  forth  we  would  be  enjoying  Heaven 


now." 


"  Arch,"  asked  the  Doctor  anxiously,  "  are 
you  really  in  earnest?  " 

"  In  earnest? "  laughed  he  for  answer. 
"Well  I  guess  I  am!  So  much  so,  that  I'm 
going  to  leave  you  to  rest  for  a  time  with  this 
messenger  of  peace  and  health.  I'll  come  up 
later  if  you  like  and  talk  some  more." 

As  Mr.  Hilman  left  the  room  he  sent  a 
silent  prayer  to  God  for  the  awakening  of  this 
child  of  Divine  Love  to  the  understanding  of 
Truth  and  Love. 

Dr.  Dorand  thought  deeply  over  the  as- 
tonishing news  his  friend  had  told  him,  con- 
cluding that  if  an  intelligent  man  like  Archer 
believed  in  this  old-new  understanding  of 
God,  he  too,  would  endeavor  to  seek  and  find 
Truth. 

He  began  reading  the  book,  becoming 
deeply  interested  in  the  thoughts  conveyed  to 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      53 

him.  He  realized  they  were  not  ordinary 
words  and  messages,  but  thoughts  of  the  Great 
Mind.  It  was  a  voicing  of  God's  truth  to  his 
children,  just  as  the  prophets  of  old  foretold 
the  coming  of  the  Healer  of  all  mortal  error. 

Twilight  was  falling  when  in  his  eagerness 
to  get  more  light  on  the  reading,  Dr.  Dorand 
forgot  his  spine  and  drew  near  the  window. 

When  his  wife  came  in,  followed  by  their 
visitors,  he  looked  up  with  a  sigh.  Suddenly 
realizing  he  had  moved  from  the  couch  he 
asked  in  amazement: 

"  Why,  how  did  I  get  over  here  alone?" 

They  all  laughed  delightedly,  for  Mr.  Hil- 
man  had  told  Mrs.  Dorand  that  her  husband 
was  so  interested  they  might  look  for  a  speedy 
recovery. 

During  their  animated  talking,  the  dinner- 
bell  rang  and  they  all  went  down,  Dr.  Dorand 
being  helped  without  much  pain. 

The  family  were  so  happy  to  have  their 
father  with  them,  they  could  speak  of  nothing 
but  the  wonder  of  it. 


54      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

When  Dr.  Dorand  was  once  again  in  his 
room  he  reminded  his  friend  of  the  promise 
to  read  or  talk  to  him. 

"  You  can  help  yourself  with  no  other  guide 
than  the  text-book,  but  I  know  you  will  feel 
better  if  you  think  someone  is  helping,"  said 
Mr.  Hilman. 

The  following  morning  the  Hilmans  went 
home,  leaving  their  little  volume  with  the 
Dorands,  while  promising  to  send  two  new 
copies  as  soon  as  possible. 

Dr.  Dorand  was  soon  able  to  get  about  and 
in  some  months  was  entirely  recovered.  His 
friends  were  so  astonished  at  his  healing  that 
it  caused  much  comment  and  started  a  num- 
ber of  them  to  investigate  a  religion  that  could 
produce  such  results. 


CHAPTER  VI 

"FIRST  THE  BLADE" 

1Y/T  RS.  ALVERN  had  been  an  interested 
witness  of  Dr.  Dorand's  healing.  She 
glanced  over  the  pages  of  the  book  that  the 
Dorands  called  "  wonderful,"  to  see  what 
could  bring  about  such  a  change  in  this 
family.  A  line  catching  her  attention,  she 
read  on,  page  after  page,  until  closing  the 
volume  with  reluctance  she  said : 

"  I  must  stop  now.  I  have  so  many  duties 
to  attend  to ;  but  this  book  is  a  jewel.  I  must 
have  you  get  me  one." 

Betty  and  Rod  read  so  much  of  the  litera- 
ture that  abounded  in  both  homes,  that  their 
progress  was  marvelous.  There  were  many 
times  when  error  led  them  astray,  but  soon 
they  would  see  the  light,  returning  to  Good 
with  more  zest  than  before. 

Joe  began  to  comprehend  who  and  what 

55 


56      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Divine  Love  meant.  He  understood  that  if 
he  lived  mimdful  of  God  he  would  have  the 
"  ever-ready  help  in  time  of  need." 

The  children  were  constantly  preaching  to 
Mollie  and  Jim,  but  they  would  answer  laugh- 
ingly: 

"  Oh,  we're  not  worth  bothering  about,  be- 
sides we're  not  sick.  Wait  until  then." 

This  generally  shocked  Betty  into  renew- 
ing her  efforts  with  more  fervor.  Gradually 
her  perseverance,  added  to  the  general  talk  of 
those  about  them,  brought  the  desired  change 
of  thought. 

The  cottage,  with  some  added  improve- 
ments, had  been  painted  and  papered,  the 
rooms  assuming  an  air  of  cozy  comfort  when 
the  carpets  and  simple  furniture  were  ar- 
ranged. Mrs.  Dorand  gave  pictures  and  cur- 
tains, while  the  Alverns  presented  dishes  and 
utensils  to  Mollie  and  Jim,  but  the  most  pleas- 
ure was  realized  by  Betty  and  Rod  giving,  and 
Joe  receiving,  the  furnishings  of  his  room. 
Many  consultations  were  held  in  the  tiny  dor- 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      57 

mer  as  to  the  wisdom  of  buying  a  rocker  or 
armchair;  whether  to  invest  two  dollars  in  a 
table  or  wait  to  buy  a  desk.  Pretty  colored 
prints  were  tacked  on  the  walls  and  dotted 
sash  curtains  hung  at  the  windows.  Checked 
matting  covered  the  floor  while  the  little  cot 
looked  very  inviting  with  a  white  spread.  The 
toilet-stand  with  drawers  had  a  swinging  mir- 
ror over  it,  giving  the  room  a  completed 
look. 

Mollie's  sister  Nan  having  arrived  on  the 
steamer  was  given  the  rear  dormer  room  for 
a  few  days.  Nannie  proved  to  be  a  nice  cap- 
able girl  some  years  younger  than  Mollie. 

Shortly  after  Nannie's  arrival  Mollie  and 
Jim  were  married  and  Nan  began  service  at 
Dorand's  while  Mollie  kept  house  for  Jim 
and  Joe. 

Soon  after  this  event,  while  Joe  was  helping 
Jim  do  some  garden  work,  Betty  and  Rod 
went  to  the  Dorands'  garden  to  get  some  cher- 
ries. A  high  picket  fence  separated  the  gar- 
den from  that  of  their  neighbors,  while  a  row 


58      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

of  cherry  trees  on  Dorand's  side  of  the  fence, 
hung  full  of  tempting  fruit. 

"  Children,"  called  Betty's  mother  from  the 
window,  "  father  does  not  want  anyone  to 
climb  in  the  trees  as  the  branches  are  too  young 
to  bear  a  weight.  You  can  reach  the  fruit 
from  the  lower  boughs." 

Rod  found  an  old  pole  in  the  end  of  which 
he  hammered  a  nail  over  in  hook-shape. 
Giving  Betty  the  pole  to  use  in  pulling  down 
the  boughs,  he  climbed  on  the  fence  to  pick 
his  cherries. 

Clare  Salters,  a  little  girl  who  lived  next 
door,  ran  over  to  the  fence  to  peer  between 
the  pickets. 

"  I've  as  much  right  to  those  cherries  as  you 
have,"  she  said  pertly. 

"They're  on  my  father's  tree  and  the  tree 
is  on  our  gardens,"  answered  Betty,  thinking 
unkind  thoughts. 

"  Maybe  so,  but  the  branches  that  hang  over 
our  fence  b'long  to  us.  My  father  said  so," 
continued  Clare  aggravatingly. 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      59 

"This  isn't  your  fence,"  said  Rod,  inter- 
fering in  another's  problem. 

"Tisn't  yours,  neither  I  I  wasn't  talkin' 
to  you  anyway,  so,  there  now!  "  Clare  snapped 
out. 

"  I  think  you're  a  rude  girl,  and  I  wish 
you'd  go  away  from  our  fence,"  said  Betty, 
self-righteously. 

"  I  don't  care  what  you  think.  My  papa 
said  your  father  got  his  old  fence  on  some  of 
our  land,  and  he's  going  to  tear  it  down,  some 
day.  So!"  replied  Clare,  tossing  her  curly 
head. 

Betty  almost  decided  to  go  and  ask  her 
father  about  the  fence  but  Clare  climbed  up 
on  it  and  reaching  out  broke  off  a  twig  of 
cherries,  beginning  deliberately  to  eat  them. 
Vexatious  tears  filled  Betty's  eyes  as  she 
watched  Clare. 

"They'll  make  you  sick,  'cause  they're  not 
yours.  See  if  they  don't!"  exclaimed  Rod, 
forgetting  all  about  his  Love  contract. 

"Just  guess  they  won't,  either!   I'll  eat  all 


60      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

I  please!  They  taste  fine!"  answered  Clare 
provokingly. 

"  Well,  you  better  not  take  any  more,  is  all 
I  say,"  said  Rod  warningly. 

Opposition  giving  her  false  bravado,  Clare 
climbed  on  the  over-hanging  limb  and  thence 
to  the  tree.  She  sat  on  a  branch  eating  the 
largest  cherries  and  throwing  down  the  bad 
ones  at  the  heads  below.  Her  temerity  made 
Betty  and  Rod  indignant. 

"  My  mother  said  not  to  climb  the  tree,"  re- 
monstrated Betty. 

"  Pooh !  She  isn't  my  mother.  I  don't  have 
to  mind  her,"  taunted  Clare,  swinging  her 
feet. 

"  It's  awful  error  to  disobey  your  elders," 
Rod  now  said,  thinking  Clare  might  take 
notice. 

"Huh!  I  wouldn't  be  such  goody-goodies. 
My  brother  says  you're  too  good  to  live  long," 
sneered  Clare. 

While  speaking  she  reached  for  a  cluster  of 
inviting  fruit  and  lost  her  balance.  Scream- 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      61 

ing  frightfully,  she  crashed  down  through  the 
branches. 

Suddenly  Truth  flashed  up  in  Betty's  mind 
and  she  prayed: 

"  Dear  Father,  hold  Clare  from  error  hurt." 

Rod  had  closed  his  eyes  to  realize  God's 
help. 

The  screaming  brought  several  families  to 
the  scene,  but  Clare  would  not  allow  anyone 
to  touch  her.  Jim  ran  over  and  gently  raising 
her,  paid  no  attention  to  her  kicks  and  cries, 
but  carried  her  to  Dorand's  sitting-room 
couch. 

Clare  sustained  no  serious  injuries  but  was 
so  covered  with  scratches  and  bruises  that  she 
cried  incessantly.  When  Mrs.  Salters  asked 
Dr.  Dorand  for  God's  help,  he  willingly 
consented,  and  in  a  short  time  Clare  slept. 

When  she  awoke  that  evening  she  was  sur- 
prised at  her  strange  surroundings  but  grad- 
ually recalled  her  disobedience  with  its  im- 
mediate punishment.  She  was  amazed  that 
the  pain  had  ceased  while  the  marks  were  still 


62      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

so  evident.  Rubbing  her  hand  over  them  she 
wondered  why  they  didn't  smart.  As  voices 
were  heard  in  the  adjoining  room,  she  jumped 
down  from  the  couch  to  avoid  seeing  anyone 
and  running  out  of  the  side  door,  scampered 
home. 

Now,  had  Betty  and  Rod  been  repentant 
for  their  part  in  prolonging  error  through 
Clare  and  themselves,  a  very  humiliating  oc- 
currence might  have  been  avoided,  but  it 
never  dawned  upon  them  that  they  were  as 
much,  if  not  more,  to  blame  for  the  acci- 
dent. 

The  following  morning,  Betty  and  Rod  were 
at  the  end  of  the  garden  playing  they  were 
fishermen  while  the  old  wood-shed  by  the 
fence  was  a  boat.  Rod  clambered  on  the  roof 
of  the  shed  to  troll  with  a  clothes-line,  while 
Betty  tied  some  string  to  a  pole. 

Turning  to  speak  to  Rod,  Betty  found  his 
attention  engrossed  by  some  cows  who  were 
standing  on  the  other  side  of  the  fence. 

"  What  are  you  looking  at?  "  asked  she. 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      63 

"I  can't  make  it  out,  can  you?  Look!" 
answered  Rod. 

Betty  scrambled  over  beside  Rod  and  by 
leaning  far  over  the  fence  they  could  see  the 
cows  munching  at  a  large  white  thing  while 
the  air  was  filled  with  feathers. 

"  Oh,  those  dreadful  beasts  are  eating  a 
beautiful  bird,"  cried  Betty  in  alarm. 

"  Maybe  we  can  save  it  for  our  Society. 
Let's  scare  them  away  and  get  the  bird,"  sug- 
gested Rod. 

"  Maybe  you  can  throw  that  line  over  so  as 
to  strike  the  cows  and  make  them  run  away. 
Then  we  can  see  what  to  do,"  added  Betty. 

Without  further  urging  Rod  slung  his  leg 
over  the  fence  to  balance  himself,  while  Betty, 
just  as  interested  in  error,  leaned  over  curi- 
ously to  watch  developments. 

Rod  threw  the  coil  of  rope,  which  struck 
the  cows  causing  them  to  jump  about,  but  at 
the  same  time  the  old  and  shaky  fence  gave 
way  precipitating  Betty  and  Rod  into  the  en- 
closure among  the  cows. 


64      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

The  children  were  so  frightened  they  could 
hardly  climb  back  to  the  shed.  Not  until  then 
did  they  begin  to  work  mentally  in  the  right 
line.  They  were  not  hurt  but  had  had  a  good 
shaking  up,  while  the  most  trying  part  was  to 
be  compelled  to  go  home  in  a  condition  so 
humiliating. 

The  white  object  that  elicited  their  sym- 
pathy was  an  old  pillow-case,  used  at  one  time 
to  hold  feathers,  but  afterward  filled  with 
corn-cobs.  A  careless  boy  had  thrown  the  bag 
into  the  pen  instead  of  emptying  it. 

The  children  presented  such  a  sorry  appear- 
ance with  spattered  mud  and  downy  feathers 
all  over  their  garments,  that  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty their  families  kept  from  laughing  out- 
right. The  experience  resulted  in  two  meek, 
humble  children  who  fully  realized  the  cause 
of  their  accident 

It  was  several  days  before  Clare's  mother 
came  to  thank  her  neighbors  for  their  assist- 
ance. 

"  I  would  like  to  know  something  of  this 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      65 

religion  that  performed  such  wonderful  cures 
in  your  families  and  healed  Clare's  hurts," 
said  Mrs.  Salters,  in  an  embarrassed  tone. 

"We  do  not  understand  much  ourselves  as 
yet,  but  I  will  loan  you  our  text-book  to  read, 
while  here  are  some  pamphlets  which  you  may 
have,"  answered  Mrs.  Dorand. 

"We  will  help  you  all  we  can,"  added  Mrs. 
Alvern.  "  I  begin  to  see  how  everyone  has  to 
come  to  the  *  fountain '  to  help  themselves, 
but  it  is  very  pleasant  to  journey  with  or  meet 
other  friends  at  the  fountain." 

Other  neighbors  beside  the  Salters  grew  in- 
terested and  mutual  talks  about  their  various 
demonstrations  became  so  frequent  that  regu- 
lar meetings  were  suggested.  So  every  Wed- 
nesday evening  the  meeting  was  held  at  Mrs. 
Alvern's  house  and  Sunday  morning  service 
was  read  at  Dr.  Dorand's. 


CHAPTER    VII 

WHAT  RESULTED  FROM  THE  BERRY  PARTY 

NE  Saturday  in  July,  a  number  of  the 
children  arranged  a  berrying  party. 
Joe  was  delighted  to  be  invited.  Lunches  were 
put  up  in  baskets,  and  taking  pails  for  the 
berries,  they  started  off  in  high  glee. 

They  were  soon  among  the  trees  and  wild 
flowers  of  the  woods  that  began  at  the  top  of 
Court  Hill.  Laughing  and  shouting,  they 
trudged  along  for  about  a  mile  before  reach- 
ing the  spring  where  they  left  the  lunch  bas- 
kets. After  berrying  they  had  planned  to 
have  lunch  and  then  play  games  until  time  to 
return  home. 

Berrying  was  an  entirely  new  experience  to 
Joe.  Never  having  seen  berries  grow,  it 
caused  such  wonderment  whenever  he  discov- 
ered a  bush,  that  he  would  cry  out: 

"Oh,  look!  look!  I've  found  another." 
67 


68      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Having  tramped  about  for  more  than  an 
hour  without  finding  many  berries,  they  sud- 
denly came  out  of  the  thick  woods  to  a  clear- 
ing, and  found  high  bushes  loaded  with  ripe 
thimble  berries.  An  old  broken  rail  fence  had 
at  one  time  separated  the  clearing  from  the 
adjacent  forest.  They  were  soon  over  the  re- 
mains of  the  fence,  merrily  employed  in  filling 
their  pails  with  the  luscious  fruit.  The  girls 
having  smaller  pails  had  filled  theirs,  so  sug- 
gested returning  to  the  Spring  to  spread  out 
the  lunch. 

After  the  girls  left,  the  boys  worked  indus- 
triously, unaware  that  they  were  trespassing 
on  private  property.  The  surrounding  trees 
hid  the  farm-house  which  was  some  distance 
from  the  berry-patch;  as  the  boys  went  fur- 
ther, they  were  startled  by  a  hen  that  flew 
from  the  tangled  bushes  and  scuttled  off,  com- 
municating her  fright  to  some  chickens  which 
were  scratching  about. 

A  flock  of  frenzied  chickens  make  the  most 
deafening  noise  when  once  aroused!  As  the 


Laughing  and  shouting  they  trudged  along 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      69 

boys  looked  at  each  other  in  blank  amazement, 
one  asked: 

"  Do  you  think  anyone  lives  near  here?  " 

"  Naw,"  answered  George  Johnson,  one  of 
the  older  boys. 

At  that  moment  they  heard  a  barking  dog 
coming  towards  them.  The  boys  were  very 
quiet  but  the  chickens  still  kept  up  intermit- 
tent squawkings,  until  the  dog  got  the  scent 
and  crashed  through  the  bushes. 

"  Don't  feel  afraid,  we're  protected,"  whis- 
pered Rod  to  Joe,  closing  his  eyes  for  a  mo- 
ment and  praying. 

"  Father,  thou  art  ever-present  Love.  All- 
seeing,  all-knowing  Love  which  reflects 
through  the  children  and  this  dog  and  creates 
harmony." 

As  an  immense  black  dog  leaped  over  the 
bushes,  Rod  went  forward  to  him. 

"Here,  doggie!  Nice  old  fellow!  We 
love  you  for  you  are  a  good  dog  to  watch  your 
home." 

The  dog,  wagging  his  tail,  was  coming  up  to 


70      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

make  friends  with  Rod,  when  at  that  moment 
George  Johnson  yelled  and  flung  a  stone  at 
him.  It  flew  past  the  dog's  head  and  landed 
among  the  chickens,  striking  one  with  suet 
violence  as  to  knock  the  poor  thing  over,  while 
the  dog  ran  back  to  the  house  and  the  boys 
hurried  away  with  their  berries,  leaving  Rod 
and  Joe  standing  there. 

When  the  party  were  out  of  hearing  Rod 
and  Joe  went  over  to  the  hen,  which  was  lying 
on  her  side.  As  they  came  near  she  tried  to 
get  away  but  only  succeeded  in  flying  a  few 
feet,  then  falling  over  again. 

"  Joe,  we  must  take  the  chicken  to  the  house 
and  tell  them  how  it  happened,"  said  Rod. 

So,  catching  the  hen  and  holding  her  fast, 
Rod  went  in  the  direction  the  dog  took,  fol- 
lowed by  Joe  with  both  pails  of  berries. 

As  they  came  near  the  farm-house  the  dog 
wagged  his  tail  in  friendly  recognition  of 
them,  while  an  old  lady  came  out  on  the 
stoop. 

"Well,  well!"  she  said,  after  hearing  the 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      71 

story,  "  you'd  better  wait  until  my  husband 
comes  back.  He's  gone  after  the  boys." 

"  Must  this  poor  hen  wait  too?"  asked  Joe. 
"  Can't  you  do  something  for  her?  " 

"  Oh,  no,"  answered  the  woman.  "  I'll 
wring  her  neck  and  cook  her.  That's  all  she's 
good  for  now." 

"  Oh,  don't!  "  cried  Rod,  "  You  can  heal  her 
good  as  ever." 

The  woman  looked  quizzically  at  Rod. 

"  I'm  too  busy  to  fuss  with  a  sick  hen  when 
I've  got  hundreds  to  look  after." 

"Maybe  you'll  sell  her  to  me?"  ventured 
Joe  timidly. 

"  Why,  bless  your  little  heart,  you  can  have 
her  if  you  want  to  fuss  with  her,"  said  the 
woman  kindly. 

The  boys  thanked  her  happily,  and  cared 
tenderly  for  the  hen. 

The  woman's  .eyes  were  suspiciously  moist 
as  she  gazed  over  the  hills,  but  seeing  her  hus- 
band coming  toward  the  house,  she  said 
brusquely: 


72      THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"Here's  the  boss.  The  chickens  are  mine 
so  you  needn't  say  I  gave  the  hen  to  you." 

"Ah-hal"  exclaimed  the  farmer  when  he 
saw  the  berries.  "  I've  got  two  of  the  rascals, 
anyway." 

"No,  you  haven't,  either  1"  answered  his 
wife  quickly.  "  These  little  boys  brought  a 
hen  in  that  they  found  hurt.  They  have  been 
berryin'  all  morning  and  just  found  our  patch 
when  the  dog  ran  out,  so  they  came  over.  I'm 
goin'  to  pay  them  for  the  time  they  spent 
pickin'  these  for  me." 

The  farmer  looked  at  his  wife  in  surprise 
but  said  nothing  as  she  counted  out  ten  cents 
to  each  boy. 

"  Say,  you  young  'uns!  what's  the  names  of 
them  boys  what  run  away?  "  asked  the  farmer 
in  a  nasal  tone. 

"  You  know  you'd  think  me  pretty  mean  if 
I  told  tales,"  answered  Rod  manfully.  "When 
I  tell  them  the  berries  are  yours,  they'll  bring 
them  back,  for  if  they  don't,  they'll  be  pun- 
ished by  error." 


THE  SEEDLINGS1  HARVEST      73 

The  farmer  looked  at  the  boys,  then  shrug- 
ging his  shoulders  went  toward  the  barn, 
while  his  wife  put  the  hen  in  an  old  meal-bag 
and  tied  the  top. 

"  This  is  the  best  way  to  carry  a  chicken  to 
keep  'em  from  gettin'  frightened." 

"  I'll  be  careful  of  her  and  thank  you  very 
much,"  said  Joe,  taking  the  bag  while  Rod 
carried  the  empty  pails. 

"  Heigh — there!  "  shouted  a  voice  from  the 
hill-side,  "where  have  you  two  kids  been?" 

Looking  up  they  saw  the  rest  of  the  party 
coming  along  the  foot-path. 

"  We  began  to  get  worried,  so  we  came  back 
to  see  if  you  had  lost  the  path,"  said  Clare's 
brother. 

Then  Rod  told  them  about  the  hen,  adding 
that  the  farmer  expected  them  back  with  the 
berries. 

"  Do  you  think  he'll  do  anything?  "  asked 
one  of  the  girls  fearfully. 

"  Not  if  you  take  them  back,  but  if  you  don't 
I  think  he  will  do  something  about  it." 


74      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  Catch  me  takin'  mine  back!  "  said  George, 
tossing  his  head  defiantly.  "  I'm  goin'  to  the 
Spring  to  eat  my  lunch." 

"Joe  and  you  go  to  the  Spring  with  George 
and  wait  for  us — we'll  hurry,"  said  Fred  Sal- 
ters  to  Rod,  starting  for  the  farm  followed  by 
the  others. 

When  the  three  boys  reached  the  Spring, 
George  noticed  the  bag  that  Joe  carried. 

"What'cher  got  in  there?" 

"  The  farmer's  wife  gave  Joe  the  chicken," 
answered  Rod  quietly. 

"  She  did,  eh!  Well,  I'd  have  broken  both 
its  legs  with  the  stone  if  I'd  thought  you  sissy- 
boys  would  make  such  a  fuss  over  the  old 
thing,"  sneered  George. 

Joe,  resenting  his  sneer,  was  about  to  make 
an  angry  reply,  but  Rod  nudged  him  saying: 

"  c  A  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath.' ' 

"Pooh!  you  little  infant-school  angels!" 
said  George,  "I  wouldn't  be  seen  in  your  com- 
pany even  here  in  the  woods." 

Snatching  up  his  pail  of  berries  and  the 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      75 

lunch  basket,  George  started  to  go,  when  his 
toe  caught  in  a  running  blackberry  vine. 
Falling  full-length  amid  the  sharp  stones  and 
briars  he,  like  all  spoiled  children,  began  cry- 
ing loudly,  while  the  lunch  and  berries  scat- 
tered far  and  wide. 

Sitting  up,  he  pulled  down  his  stocking  to 
examine  his  knee  which  appeared  to  be  badly 
bruised  and  swelling  rapidly.  Rod  imme- 
diately closed  his  eyes  and  denied  the  error. 

"  Why  don't  you  come  over  to  help  me  in- 
stead of  standing  there,"  cried  George,  rather 
inconsistently. 

"What  do  you  want  us  to  do?"  asked  Joe. 

"  You  fell,  losing  your  lunch  and  berries  be- 
cause you  know  it  is  wrong  to  keep  those  ber- 
ries," said  Rod.  "  And  because  you  wish  you 
had  broken  the  chicken's  other  leg,  error  trips 
you  up  and  hurts  your  leg." 

"  Stop  preachin',  you  crazy  kid,  and  fetch 
some  water  to  put  on  my  knee,"  screamed 
George. 

"  I'll  do  more  than  that,"  answered  Rod, 


76      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

compassionately,  "  I'll  help  to  heal  you  in  the 
true  way." 

"I  just  guess  you  won't  either!"  growled 
George,  catching  up  a  rock  and  pretending  to 
throw  it  at  Rod.  The  rock  was  so  large  it 
slipped  from  his  grasp,  striking  his  knee 
again,  which  caused  him  to  scream. 

"  Come,  Joe,"  said  Rod  softly,  "  if  we  irri- 
tate him,  it  will  be  better  for  us  to  go  away." 

"Are  you  goin'  to  leave  me  here  alone," 
cried  George.  "  Help  me  over  to  the  Spring 
at  least." 

As  Rod  and  Joe  managed  to  carry  him  to 
the  edge  of  the  water,  voices  were  heard  in 
the  distance.  The  rest  of  the  party,  coming 
back,  were  silenced  when  they  heard  how  er- 
ror brought  such  immediate  punishment  to 
George.  They  knew  that  Betty,  Rod  and  Joe 
understood  God  to  be  .Good,  and  any  pain  or 
disappointment  was  the  result  of  wrong  think- 
ing, so  no  comments  were  made  during  the 
lunch,  and  immediately  after,  the  larger  boys 
carried  George  home. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      77 

The  doctor  being  summoned  said  it  would 
be  a  long  time  before  George  would  walk 
again  as  his  knee  had  a  bad  dislocation. 

After  a  week  of  severe  pain,  George  felt  so 
humble  and  repentant,  that  he  sent  for  Rod  to 
come  and  see  him.  Mrs.  Alvern  went  with 
Rod  and  after  they  had  talked  some  time,  Mrs. 
Johnson  asked  if  George  could  be  helped  in 
Science. 

Before  leaving,  Mrs.  Alvern  gave  them  a 
treatment  and  loaned  her  text-book  to  Mrs. 
Johnson. 

The  following  Wednesday  evening  George 
walked  to  the  meeting,  accompanied  by  his 
mother.  The  Johnson  family  grew  thor- 
oughly interested  in  the  study  of  God  which 
created  entirely  different,  but  harmonious 
conditions  in  the  family. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

JOE'S   DEMONSTRATIONS 

\\7  HEN  Rod  and  Joe  brought  home  the 
chicken,  Betty  led  them  directly  to  the 
summer-house.  Taking  it  from  the  bag,  Joe 
passed  the  hen  to  Betty,  who  sat  down  and 
gave  it  a  treatment.  This  done,  Joe  mixed 
some  meal,  of  which  the  hen  ate  sparingly  and 
then  settled  down  to  roost  on  the  back  of  the 
bench.  While  Betty  watched  in  the  arbor, 
the  boys  ran  to  the  barn  to  prepare  a  nest.  The 
hen  (Betty  had  christened  it  Biddy)  was  re- 
moved to  her  new  roost  where  she  behaved  as 
if  that  had  always  been  her  home. 

Jim  covertly  watched  the  children  when, 
their  task  accomplished,  they  tip-toed  from 
the  barn  so  the  sleeping  chicken  would  not  be 
disturbed. 

"You  don't  think  Love  will  bother  about 
that  hen's  leg,  do  you?"  asked  Jim  quizzi- 
cally. 

79 


8o      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  You  surely  do  not  doubt  it,  do  you,  Jim?" 
asked  Rod  wonderingly. 

"'As  the  unthinking  lobster  renews  it's 
claws,'  "  quoted  Betty  emphatically,  "  so  will 
the  hen's  leg  heal." 

The  next  morning,  Joe  running  to  the  barn 
to  see  his  hen,  found  instead,  an  egg  in  the 
nest. 

"Jim,  Jim!"  called  Joe  excitedly,  "come 
quick  and  see  the  present  Biddy  has  given 


me." 


"That's  why  Miss  Biddy  acted  so  proud. 
I  saw  her  struttin'  out  of  the  barn-door,  and 
without  sayin'  good  mornin'  to  me,  started  off 
on  a  run  for  the  summer-house.  I  think  she 
was  lookin'  for  you  to  tell  you  about  the  egg," 
answered  Jim,  smiling. 

Joe,  taking  the  egg,  ran  in  search  of  Biddy 
and  found  her  standing  on  the  bench  in  the 
arbor  where  she  had  been  helped  the  evening 
previous. 

She  was  very  quiet  that  day  but  the  follow- 
ing morning  began  scratching  about  as  lively 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      81 

as  a  cricket.  Joe  found  a  nice,  fresh  egg 
every  day  until  Mrs.  Alvern  mentioned  the 
fact. 

"Joe,  I'd  like  to  buy  those  eggs  from  you," 
said  she. 

Joe  was  surprised;  then  an  idea  gradually 
formed  in  his  mind  expressing  itself  thus: 

"  Mrs.  Alvern,  do  chickens  cost  much?" 

"  I've  heard  the  expense  of  maintaining 
them  is  almost  nothing  but  you  should  have  a 
number  of  them  to  make  it  pay,"  answered 
she. 

"  I  guess  I'll  ask  Jim  where  I  can  buy  some. 
I  can  take  some  money  from  my  l  benefit,'  then 
when  I  sell  the  eggs,  I'll  put  it  back  in  the 
bank,"  Joe  said  musingly. 

Mrs.  Alvern  commended  Joe's  desire  to 
help  himself,  so  Joe  confided  in  Jim.  To- 
gether they  went  to  Jim's  friend  who  was  a 
gardener  at  a  dentist's  home. 

"  Say,  Dennis,  will  you  give  this  lad  some 
advice  about  chickens  and  tell  us  the  best 
layin'  kind?"  asked  Jim. 


82      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Giving  Joe  much  valuable  information, 
Dennis  added: 

"We  have  so  many  young  chickens  at 
present  that  the  boss  told  me  to  sell  some 
off." 

"  How  much  does  he  want  for  'em?  "  asked 
Joe  eagerly. 

"  He  didn't  say,  but  I  know,"  said  Dennis, 
nodding  his  head  wisely  at  Joe,  "  if  you  goes 
and  asks  the  doctor  yoursel'  you'll  git  'em 
cheaper  than  me  nor  Jim  could." 

When  Rod  and  Joe  went  to  Dr.  Anson's  of- 
fice to  ask  about  the  chickens,  the  doctor  not 
being  busy  just  then,  questioned  Joe,  concern- 
ing himself. 

Hearing  the  mention  of  "  Love's  Society  " 
during  the  conversation,  the  doctor  asked  in- 
terestedly about  it,  so  Rod  described  their 
work. 

"  I'm  goin'  to  find  work  somewhere  so  I'll 
not  draw  the  money  from  the  box,"  added  Joe. 
"  That's  why  I  want  chickens,  until  somethin' 
else  turns  up  for  me." 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      83 

"  How  would  you  like  to  work  in  my  of- 
fice?" asked  Dr.  Anson. 

"  I  don't  know  how,"  answered  Joe  wist- 
fully. "  I'd  try  hard  to  learn  though." 

"  I  want  someone  to  run  errands  and  do  lit- 
tle chores  about  the  rooms.  You  could  come 
at  nine  and  be  through  at  five  o'clock.  I  paid 
the  last  boy  two  and  a  half  dollars  weekly. 
How  would  that  do?  "  said  the  doctor. 

"Oh,  it's  fine!  Will  you  keep  it  for  me 
until  I  ask  advice  about  it?  "  asked  Joe,  fear- 
ful lest  a  boy  might  come  in  and  take  the  posi- 
tion while  he  was  gone  home  to  ask  permis- 
sion. 

"  Certainly,"  answered  the  doctor  laughing. 
"  I'll  keep  it  in  the  refrigerator  so  it  won't 
melt  away." 

"  Could  I  be  spared  to  go  to  school  in  the 
Fall,  do  you  think?"  Joe  remembered  to 
ask. 

"  I  guess  we  can  arrange  it  quite  easily," 
said  Dr.  Anson,  good-naturedly. 

"Joe,  I  think  it's  a  demonstration.    That's 


84      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

what  I  think,  if  you  should  ask  mel "  Rod  said 
decidedly. 

"A  WHAT?"  the  doctor  asked  perplex- 
edly. 

"Why,  a  demonstration!  It's  something 
real  good  that  God  gives  you  when  you  follow 
as  closely  as  possible,  the  teachings  in  our  text- 
book," answered  Rod. 

Dr.  Anson  made  no  further  remarks  in  ref- 
erence to  Rod's  explanation,  but  that  didn't 
prevent  him  from  thinking.  Thinking  is 
the  first  step  in  Truth. 

The  doctor  wrote  a  note  to  his  gardener,  and 
handing  it  to  Joe,  said  he  should  select  what 
chickens  he  needed. 

When  Jim  and  the  boys  went  over  for  the 
chickens,  Dennis  read  the  letter. 

"  The  boss  says  I  should  help  you  pick  out 
good  layin'  hens  and  you  are  to  pay  fer  'em 
when  you  sells  your  eggs,"  Dennis  said. 

"  Oh  I  How  beautiful  everything  turns  out. 
I  don't  know  why  everyone  likes  me  and  shows 
such  kindness  to  me,"  remarked  Joe  grate- 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      85 

fully.    "It  must   be  because   I    am    trying 
hard  to  do  just  what  the  'quiet  voice'  tells 


me." 


Three  hens  and  a  rooster  were  selected  and 
the  price  of  them  asked. 

"  Just  an  even  dollar,"  answered  Dennis, 
winking  at  Jim  who  was  too  surprised  to 
speak. 

"  Maybe  Biddy  will  fight  these  new-com- 
ers," suggested  Jim,  as  they  carried  the  chick- 
ens to  the  barn. 

"  Jim,  I'm  shocked  to  hear  you  claim  such  a 
thing  against  Biddy,"  Betty  spoke  up.  "  She 
loves  company." 

"Why!  Dear  old  Biddy  is  too  good  to 
fight,"  added  Joe,  in  his  hen's  defense. 

"Jim,  I  guess  you  forgot  Biddy  belongs  to 
our  Society;  we  wouldn't  have  fighters  on  the 
membership,"  said  Rod,  in  great  dudgeon. 

Jim  laughed  with  keen  enjoyment  at  the 
manner  in  which  his  casual  remark  was  re- 
ceived. 

It  was  as  the  children  said — Biddy  was  so 


86      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

pleased  with  the  strangers  that  she  chattered 
like  a  fussy  magpie. 

Joe  kept  his  chickens  so  clean  and  comfort- 
able that  they  repaid  him  with  enough  eggs 
to  supply  both  families.  One  of  the  hens  was 
setting  on  a  dozen  eggs  and  the  children 
eagerly  awaited  the  little  chicks. 

Joe  had  accepted  the  dentist's  position, 
proving  such  a  willing  and  bright  boy  that  Dr. 
Anson  promised  him  an  increase  of  a  dollar  a 
week. 

One  day  as  Joe  came  from  the  office  Rod 
ran  to  him  shouting,  while  Betty  waved  her 
hat  from  the  top  of  the  gate-post. 

"Joe!  J°e!  me  chicks  are  out!  five  yellow, 
six  speckled,  and  one  weeny,  white  one.  Jim 
says  it's  wonderful  they  all  hatched  out  alive." 

The  boys  ran  out  to  the  barn  to  find  Betty 
had  preceded  them  and  was  cooing  to  the  lit- 
tle puff-balls,  while  the  mother-hen  fiercely 
scolded,  for  the  interference  in  her  family 
circle.  The  children  simply  screamed  with 
merriment  when  they  saw  Biddy  show  off. 
She  went  about  excitedly  with  her  feathers 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      87 

spread  out,  scratching  and  clucking  as  proudly 
as  if  the  chicks  were  her  own  grand-children. 
She  strutted  up  to  Joe,  pecking  at  his  shoes 
and  hopping  back  again  to  the  wonderful 
brood. 

Joe's  face  wore  a  continuous  smile.  He 
had  never  seen  young  chicks  before  and  he 
loved  to  hold  them  against  his  face.  He  felt 
an  affinity  for  the  white  one;  it  appealed  to 
him  because,  being  the  smallest,  it  was  not  as 
spry  as  the  others  when  the  mother-hen  called 
her  chicks  to  their  dinner,  so  it  often  went 
hungry. 

"  Joe,  we'll  have  to  build  a  coop  and  run- 
way," Jim  said,  "  for  all  these  chickens  are  be- 
coming a  nuisance  in  the  garden." 

So  Joe  bought  material  from  the  egg  money 
and  spent  his  spare  time  building  a  coop  under 
Jim's  instruction.  Joe  selected  a  spot  back  of 
the  barn  where  he  could  see  it  from  his  win- 
dow. 

When  the  rows  of  roosts  and  nice  square 
boxes  for  nests  were  completed,  Joe  felt  he 
had  achieved  a  wonderful  feat. 


88      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"We  ought  to  give  the  chickens  a  house- 
warming,"  said  Rod,  laughing. 

"  If  the  chickens  could  write  the  invitations 
they'd  be  glad  to  give  the  party,"  replied  Joe. 

"  I've  heard  of  *  writing  like  a  chicken's 
foot-prints, ' :  said  Betty,  smiling.  "  Why 
shouldn't  our  chickens  be  educated  too." 

Mrs.  Alvern  over-heard  the  children  joking 
about  a  party  and  smilingly  asked : 

"  Will  you  serve  refreshments?  If  you  do, 
I  may  come." 

"Yes,  indeed,"  laughed  Betty.  "We're 
going  to  have  cracked  corn  served  on  chicken 
feathers,  toasted  to  a  crisp." 

"At  what  time  will  the  feast  begin?" 

"  About  sun-down,"  replied  Rod. 

"  Because  the  chickens  go  to  roost  at  that 
time  and  it  wouldn't  be  polite  to  have  the  party 
without  them,"  Joe  remarked,  while  they  all 
laughed. 

That  evening  Betty  extended  an  invitation 
to  her  family  and  it  was  accepted  very  seri- 
ously. Considering  it  all  a  huge  joke,  the 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      89 

children  soon  forgot  it;  so  the  next  afternoon 
they  were  surprised  to  find  a  bushel  of 
cracked  corn  at  the  new  coop.  Tied  to  the 
bag  was  a  card  that  read: 

"  The  Dorands  regret  that  they  will  not  be 
present  to  eat  any  corn  to-night." 

Another  bag  containing  meal  displayed  a 
card  reading: 

"Alvern's  donation  to  the  coop-warming." 

Alongside  the  bags  was  a  bale  of  straw  for 
the  nests,  from  Jim,  Mollie  and  Nan. 

These  gifts  were  as  much  a  surprise  to 
Betty  and  Rod,  as  to  Joe.  Making  merry 
over  it,  they  had  great  fun  moving  the  chick- 
ens into  the  new  quarters. 

Before  summer  was  over,  Joe  added  more 
young  chicks  to  his  coop  and  felt  he  was  a 
stock-farmer.  The  income  from  the  sale  of 
eggs  was  regularly  put  away  for  the  future. 

One  morning,  Joe  stopped  in  a  store  for  a 
moment,  to  watch  an  auction  sale  of  books. 
Bidding  twenty-five  cents  for  a  bundle  of 
books,  he  was  delighted  to  have  them  sold  to 


90      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

him.  Reaching  the  office,  he  placed  the 
books  on  his  cap. 

"  Joe,"  asked  the  doctor,  later  in  the  morn- 
ing, "what  are  you  going  to  do  with  the 
books?" 

"  Take  'em  home,"  answered  Joe.  "  I'm 
goin'  to  save  until  I  get  a  lot  of  'em,  then  I'll 
build  a  bookcase  to  hold  'em." 

"  Like  you  did  for  the  chickens,  eh?  "  said 
the  doctor. 

Dr.  Anson  went  home  at  noon  leaving  Joe 
in  charge  of  the  office.  He  remained  much 
longer  than  usual,  but  upon  returning  gave 
some  trivial  explanation. 

"  Joe,  as  we  are  not  busy  this  afternoon,  you 
may  go  home  to  enjoy  your  books,"  said  Dr. 
Anson. 

"  Thank  you,  sir,"  answered  Joe  meekly, 
but  the  moment  he  was  out  of  the  office  door 
he  gripped  his  books  and  raced  home.  Near- 
ing  the  cottage  he  heard  voices  coming  from 
his  room,  and  found  Betty  and  Rod  sitting  on 
the  floor  amid  a  quantity  of  books.  In  the 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      91 

corner  stood  a  white  enameled  book-case  with 
thin  silk  curtains  hanging  before  the  shelves. 
Joe  was  speechless  with  amazement. 

"  Isn't  he  just  fine,  though?  "  Betty  greeted 
him  in  high  glee. 

"  Joe,  these  books  on  travel  and  adventures 
are  splendid,"  added  Rod.  "  Dr.  Anson  came 
over  with  the  man  who  carried  the  books,  and 
asked  us  to  arrange  'em  for  you." 

"Dr.  Anson!"  repeated  Joe.  "Did  he 
lend  'em  to  me?" 

"  He  gave  them  to  you!  For  keeps!  Ain't 
he  great?  "  exclaimed  Rod,  forgetting  gram- 
mar in  his  haste  to  have  Joe  comprehend. 

The  following  morning  Joe  thanked  Dr. 
Anson,  who  replied: 

"  You  might  have  had  them  long  ago  but  I 
never  thought;  all  those  periodicals  that  are 
more  than  a  few  weeks  old  can  be  taken  away 
too." 

Thus  Joe  realized  his  library  from  Divine 
Love  through  the  avenue  of  Dr.  Anson. 


CHAPTER   IX 

SOME  NEW  SOCIETY  MEMBERS 

NE  day  a  letter  came  from  Aunt  Belle, 
whose  check  had  come  the  week  pre- 
vious; Betty  wondered  what  the  news  could 
be,  until  Rod  suggested  that  she  open  the 
envelope  to  find  out. 

"  Dear  Love  Workers : 

"  Have  you  room  to  accommodate  a  dog  that 
needs  the  country?  He  is  a  beautiful  collie 
that  came  from  Scotland.  They  had  him 
fastened  in  the  hold  of  the  steamer,  where  he 
became  frightened,  and  acted  too  dazed  to 
move,  when  called.  He  has  never  seemed  well 
since,  so  I  thought  with  the  kindness  he  will 
receive  from  your  Society,  Laddie  will  feel  all 
right.  Answer  at  once  if  you  will  board  him, 
as  I  am  going  abroad  next  week.  When  I 

93 


94      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

return  I  intend  visiting  you  to  inquire  the  way 
to  find  Love. 

"  My  love  to  all,  and  kisses  to  you,  from 

"AUNT  BELLE." 

"What  do  you  think  of  it?"  asked  Rod, 
after  a  long  pause.  "  I  love  dogs,  don't  you?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,  but  we'll  have  to  ask  father 
about  it,"  replied  Betty. 

Running  indoors  to  Dr.  Dorand,  they  gave 
him  the  letter.  He  read  it  saying  he  would 
do  his  share  in  welcoming  the  dog,  and  ad- 
vised them  to  get  Jim's  help  in  building  a 
kennel. 

"Jim,  will  you  help  us  build  a  house  for 
Laddie?"  asked  Rod,  after  Betty  had  ex- 
plained about  the  dog. 

Jim  willingly  consented  to  help,  so  a  letter 
was  written,  telling  Aunty  to  send  Laddie  at 
once. 

The  following  day  Betty,  Rod  and  Jim 
were  very  busy  with  tools  and  boards,  building 
the  kennel  for  Laddie.  Jim  marked  the 


95 

boards  for  Rod  to  saw,  and  instructed  Betty 
about  hammering.  Rod  sawed  with  stren- 
uous energy  but  did  not  make  much  head- 
way; determined,  however,  not  to  grumble, 
he  sawed  through  the  board  at  last,  and 
standing  up,  mopped  his  perspiring  face. 
Jim,  coming  over  to  get  the  sections,  looked 
down  in  surprise,  while  Dr.  Dorand  walked  by 
the  group  just  then.  Inquiring  how  they 
were  progressing,  he  noticed  what  Rod  had 
done  and  joined  Jim  in  a  hearty  laugh.  Rod 
had  laid  the  board  down  on  the  door-step, 
holding  it  down  firmly  with  his  foot,  and  in 
sawing  it,  had  sawed  through  the  thick  door- 
step at  the  same  time. 

The  old  saying,  "  A  woman  can  never  hit  a 
nail  on  the  head,"  was  proven  by  Betty,  whose 
fingers  caught  the  thud  from  the  hammer 
oftener  than  the  nail  did. 

By  evening  the  kennel  was  finished.  It 
was  not  built  upon  strictly  architectural  lines, 
but  the  carpenters  that  planned  Laddie's  house 
worked  with  a  desire  to  accomplish. 


96      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Toward  evening,  the  following  day,  the  ex- 
press-wagon stopped  and  the  driver  carefully 
lowered  an  immense  crate  to  the  ground. 
Betty  and  Rod  ran  out  and  peering  between 
the  slats  of  the  box,  had  a  cold  nose  immed- 
iately rubbed  against  their  faces.  Betty, 
laughing,  danced  about  the  box  while  Rod 
went  for  Jim,  to  help  carry  the  box  to  the  rear 
porch.  Jim  taking  off  the  slats,  Laddie 
sprang  out  and  shook  himself  while  the  chil- 
dren clapped  their  hands  gleefully.  Dr.  Do- 
rand,  after  examining  him  carefully,  pro- 
nounced him  in  splendid  condition. 

Laddie  was  a  beautiful,  thorough-bred  dog; 
his  ruff  and  bushy  tail  stood  out  accentuating 
the  sharp  pointed  nose  and  slender  legs.  His 
eyes  were  so  intelligent  and  alert  that  Betty 
said  he  understood  everything. 

Jim  suggested  chaining  Laddie  to  the  ken- 
nel for  a  time,  to  prevent  him  from  running 
away,  but  the  children  loudly  denounced  the 
idea. 

"Nothing   runs   away   from   Love,   Jim," 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      97 

quietly  remarked  Dr.  Dorand.  "  Laddie  is  a 
member  of  Love's  Society  for  animals  and  he 
knows  it,  too,  just  see  him  wag  his  tail  while 
following  those  children  about." 

So  Laddie  was  given  all  freedom,  remain- 
ing with  the  children  by  day,  and  going  to  his 
kennel  at  night,  after  Betty  and  Rod  were 
asleep. 

The  morning  following  Laddie's  arrival,  he 
was  taken  to  the  summer-house  and  shown  the 
Society's  contract,  while  the  children  ex- 
plained what  it  meant.  Betty  then  held  a  pen- 
cil in  Laddie's  paw  and  guided  it  while  Rod 
steadied  the  contract  where  the  dog's  name 
was  signed  under  that  of  Biddy.  This  labori- 
ous task  being  completed,  Laddie  was  told 
that,  as  he  was  a  member  of  the  Society,  he 
must  love  everybody  and  do  all  the  good  he 
could. 

Laddie,  looking  up  at  the  children,  gave 
several  short  barks  and  wagged  his  tail  ener- 
getically in  acknowledgment  of  the  honor  be- 
stowed upon  him. 


98      THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

When  Aunt  Belle  received  the  letter  from 
the  children  saying  how  much  they  loved  Lad- 
die who  was  well  and  happy,  she  smiled,  nod- 
ding her  head  with  approval. 

The  new  member  was  introduced  to  the 
neighboring  children,  who  petted  and  hugged 
Laddie  to  his  great  delight. 

"  I  wonder  if  Laddie  would  like  to  play 
with  a  cute  little  maltese  kitten  I've  got 
home?"  asked  Clare  Salters. 

She  ran  home,  returning  in  a  few  minutes 
with  something  held  in  her  arms. 

"Oh,  the  little  darling!"  cried  Betty,  pat- 
ting the  kitten  who  purred  contentedly. 

Laddie  lay  at  the  children's  feet  with  one 
eye  open  for  the  slightest  move  which  might 
suggest  that  he  was  wanted,  his  tail  tapping 
the  floor  spasmodically  if  his  name  was  men- 
tioned. Since  the  kitten's  appearance  on  the 
scene,  however,  he  was  curiously  attentive  un- 
til Betty  called. 

"  Come  here,  old  fellow,  we'll  introduce 
you." 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST      99 

Laddie  stood  up,  sniffing  at  the  furry  little 
mite  in  Betty's  lap.  Kitty's  paw  went  out 
with  an  instinctive  feeling  of  self-defense,  but 
rinding  only  love  about  her,  instead  of  mali- 
cious mischief,  she  allowed  Laddie  to  lick  her 
fur.  Thereafter,  it  was  Laddie's  especial 
privilege  to  protect  Kitty. 

About  the  time  that  Laddie  came  to  live 
with  the  Society,  Nannie  moved  her  effects  to 
the  Dorands'  and  left  the  little  dormer  room 
in  the  rear  of  the  cottage. 

Joe  occupied  the  front  room,  paying  Mol- 
lie  two  dollars  a  week  for  his  board. 

His  chickens  were  attended  to  so  faithfully, 
that  the  daily  increase  of  eggs  was  enough  to 
enable  Joe  to  sell  to  the  neighbors.  Some 
more  eggs  had  hatched,  among  which  was  a 
tiny  bantam  that  became  the  pet  of  the  chil- 
dren. Biddy  had  so  many  grand-children  by 
this  time  that  she  gave  up  clucking  and  worry- 
ing about  them,  subsiding  into  a  quiet,  indus- 
trious old  hen. 

One  morning  while  Betty  and  Rod  sat  in 


ioo    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

the  summer-house  with  Laddie  at  their  feet, 
Dr.  Dorand  came  over  to  them. 

"  I  just  witnessed  a  scene  that  will  appeal 
to  the  aid  of  your  Society,"  said  he,  without 
any  preamble. 

The  children  were  interested  at  once  so  the 
doctor  continued : 

"  A  farmer  took  me  toward  Green  Village 
this  morning  to  examine  some  cattle  that 
seemed  to  be  dropping  off  with  no  particular 
complaint.  I  discovered  the  seeming  cause 
and  after  giving  the  cattle  a  good  treatment, 
advised  the  farmer  concerning  sanitary  condi- 
tions in  regard  to  the.  Board  of  Health  law. 
Not  being  aware  of  the  existing  evil  he  was 
grateful  to  have  it  exposed. 

"  *  But  what  are  you  going  to  do  about  the 
cows?'  he  asked.  'Will  you  send  down 
some  medicine  for  them?  I  don't  want  to  lose 
any  more.' 

"  I  told  him  it  would  not  be  necessary  to 
dose  them  with  medicine  as  I  knew  they 
would  be  all  right. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     101 

"  Then  in  a  simple  explanation  I  gave  him 
some  Truth  food,  mentioning  how  I  found 
Divine  Love.  He  was  very  much  interested 
in  hearing  of  my  cure  and  invited  me  to  come 
to  the  house  to  tell  his  wife. 

"As  we  were  crossing  the  lower  meadow, 
near  a  grove  of  thick  trees,  we  heard  a  child's 
cries.  Mr.  Whiting,  the  farmer,  looked  about 
in  surprise,  thinking  it  was  one  of  his  chil- 
dren. 

"  Hastening  our  steps  toward  the  shadows 
of  the  grove,  we  distinguished  a  woman 
sitting  on  the  grass  leaning  unconsciously 
against  a  tree.  A  small  child  was  pulling  at 
her  hands  while  another  sat  beside  her,  cry- 
ing. 

"I  immediately  declared  the  Truth  but 
with  no  apparent  effect.  Mr.  Whiting  and  I 
carried  her  to  the  farm-house,  not  far  distant, 
and  I  kept  up  working  hard  against  error.  I 
soon  found,  however,  that  the  woman  was  be- 
yond temporal  help,  while  the  present  duty 
seemed  to  be,  to  see  the  two  little  girls  cared 


102    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

for  and  the  town  authorities  properly  notified. 
Mrs.  Whiting  had  taken  charge  of  them  while 
her  husband  and  I  drove  into  town  to  attend 
to  forms  demanded  by  law.  I  came  home  to 
ask  if  Love's  money  will  help  these  little 
ones?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  indeed  it  will !  "  cried  Betty 
eagerly. 

"  We've  got  about  sixty  dollars  in  the 
bank,"  added  Rod.  "  Aunt  Belle's  paid  Lad- 
die's board  for  three  months  in  advance,  so 
that  helped  a  lot.  What  can  we  do  for 
them?  " 

"Can  we  go  back  with  you  to  get  them?" 
asked  Betty. 

"  I  don't  think  you  had  better  do  anything 
just  yet,"  answered  her  father.  "  I  must  see 
what  the  outcome  of  the  investigation  will  be. 
I  see  you  have  funds  enough  to  assist  if  it  is 
found  necessary." 

Mrs.  Alvern  came  over  to  the  arbor  as  the 
doctor  finished  speaking,  so  he  repeated  the 
story  to  her. 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     103 

"Will  they  remain  at  the  farm?  "  inquired 
she. 

"  I  don't  see  how  they  can,"  replied  Dr.  Do- 
rand.  "Whiting  has  a  large  family  of  his 
own  but  a  very  small  house." 

"  Mother,  why  couldn't  we  board  them  with 
Mollie  for  a  few  days  or,  at  least,  until  their 
relatives  are  found?"  asked  Rod  anxiously. 

Mrs.  Alvern  looked  inquiringly  at  the  doc- 
tor for  an  answer. 

"  That  doesn't  seem  an  unwise  suggestion," 
he  said.  "  It  opens  an  immediate  shelter  for 
the  tots  where  they  will  be  well  cared  for." 

"  The  children  might  run  up  to  ask  Mollie 
and  tell  her  to  come  here  to  talk  it  over,"  sug- 
gested Mrs.  Alvern. 

Betty  and  Rod  needed  no  further  approval 
but  ran  to  the  cottage  to  confer  with  Mollie. 

"Oh,  Mollie!  what  do  you  think!  Love 
sent  us  two  dear  little  girls  'cause  we  have 
sixty  dollars.  If  they  live  with  you  how  long 
will  that  much  money  last?"  called  Betty  ex- 
citedly when  she  saw  Mollie  in  the  doorway. 


104    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"Yes,  sir!"  echoed  Rod,  "they're  on  the 
farm  where  there  ain't  room,  so  Betty's  father 
says  we  can  help,  as  we've  saved  heaps  of 
money,  since  Joe  pays  his  own  way." 

"Children,  children,"  exclaimed  Mollie, 
playfully  putting  her  hands  over  her  ears, 
"  if  you  want  me  to  help,  you'll  have  to  go 
slow.  All  I  could  make  out  was,  that  you  had 
a  farm  that  two  little  girls  were  running,  but 
as  it  was  too  small  for  them  to  live  on,  you 
wanted  them  to  live  with  me.  Is  that  cor- 
rect?" 

"Yes,  yes!''  impatiently  answered  Betty, 
"  but  will  the  money  last?  " 

"  Betty,  I  wish  you'd  try  and  tell  Mollie  the 
story  straight,"  said  Rod,  remonstratingly.  "  It 
isn't  scientific  to  be  impatient;  besides  you 
ought  to  know  by  this  time,  that  if  this  present 
supply  of  money  is  used,  Love  has  all  we  will 
need." 

Betty  felt  rebuked,  but  knew  Rod  was 
right. 

"  Mollie,  we  can't  keep  the  girls  if  their  re- 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     105 

lations  come  for  'em,  but  we  want  you  to  keep 
'em  for  a  few  days.  Take  off  your  apron  and 
come  over  to  see  Betty's  father,"  advised 
Rod. 

Jim  came  up,  and  having  heard  the  tale,  ad- 
vised Mollie  to  see  the  elders  who  were  at  the 
summer-house. 

The  result  of  the  conference  at  the  summer- 
house  was,  that  Jim  hooked  Ben  to  the  phae- 
ton, for  Mollie  to  drive  to  the  farm,  and  judge 
for  herself  what  the  children  seemed  to  be 
like. 

Late  that  afternoon,  Mollie  returned  with 
two  girls.  The  elder  nine  years  of  age,  sad 
and  forlorn-looking,  the  younger,  about  seven, 
frightened  by  strange  people  and  surround- 
ings. 

Rod  and  Betty  appropriated  the  little  sisters 
at  once,  taking  them  over  to  the  arbor  to  be- 
come acquainted. 

"Are  you  glad  Love  brought  you  to  visit 
us?"  asked  Betty  gently,  with  an  arm  about 
each  child. 


io6    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"What's  your  names?"  asked  Rod  with 
boyish  bluntness. 

"  Mine's  Helen  Graham  and  hers  is  Mary," 
timidly  answered  the  eldest. 

"  I  love  the  name  of  *  Mary'  'cause  all  the 
Marys  in  the  bible  were  full  of  love,"  said 
Betty,  patting  little  Mary's  cheek. 

"I  like  'Helen'  too,"  Rod  added  impar- 
tially. "  It  sounds  brave  and  strong." 

Glancing  shyly  at  him,  Helen  smiled  her  ap- 
preciation. 

"  Is  you  two  sisters  like  we  is?  "  questioned 
Mary. 

The  others  laughed,  establishing  a  feeling 
of  good  fellowship  which  replaced  the  diffi- 
dence that  existed  before. 

"  He  isn't  my  sister,"  giggled  Betty,  "  he's 
a  partner  in  Love's  Society.  His  name's  Rod, 
an'  mine  is  Betty." 

"What's  a  partner?"  asked  Mary  wonder- 
ingly,  while  Rod  explained  about  their  so- 
ciety, interrupted  every  few  words  by  Betty's 
supplements. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     107 

Meanwhile  Mollie  sat  on  the  piazza. 
with  the  elders  and  repeated  her  story  to 
them. 

"When  I  got  to  the  farm,  Mrs.  Whiting 
had  washed  the  girls  and  dressed  'em  in  some 
of  her  children's  clothes.  When  I  told  her  our 
proposition  she  seemed  relieved,  for  she  has 
such  a  large  family  that  it  would  be  out  of  the 
question  for  her  to  keep  these  children  with 
her. 

"  She  gave  me  a  bundle  made  up  from  a 
trunk  of  out-grown  clothing  and  asked  if  she 
could  sto.p  in  to  see  the  little  ones  when  she 
came  into  town. 

"The  man  who  came  from  town  with  Dr. 
Dorand,  wrote  down  the  girls'  names  with  all 
they  could  tell  him,  sayin'  to  me,  that  maybe 
the  information  would  help  straighten  matters 
out.  I  left  the  doctor  at  the  farm  to  help  sift 
the  trouble,  an'  I  came  on  home  with  the  poor 
dears." 

"  Well,  Mollie,  the  children  are  all  right  for 
the  present,  thanks  to  the  Society  with  its 


io8    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

funds,"  sighed  Mrs.  Alvern  with  a  relieved 
air. 

"  I  guess  I'll  take  them  up  to  the  cottage 
now,  and  begin  to  get  acquainted,"  said 
Mollie,  picking  up  the  parcel. 

"  Come,  children,"  she  called  to  the  group 
in  the  arbor,  "  I'm  going  to  show  you  our 

\ 

home." 

The  word  "home"  sounded  so  pleasant  to 
the  little  girls,  that  they  ran  to  Mollie  obed- 
iently. 

Late  that  night  Dr.  Dorand  came  home 
tired,  but  triumphant.  Mrs.  Alvern  had  re- 
mained with  Mrs.  Dorand  until  the  doctor's 
return. 

"Well,  friends!"  said  Dr.  Dorand,  "  it's  all 
right  as  far  as  the  girls  are  concerned. 

"  When  I  got  back  to  the  farm,  Whiting  had 
already  arrived  with  the  doctor  and  constable. 
They  told  me  that  consumption  was  the  cause 
of  the  poor  woman's  passing,  but  lack  of  fdod, 
and  over-fatigue  accelerated  the  end. 

"  In  her  pocket  was  found  a  note  which 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     109 

read:  *  My  children  have  relatives  called  Gra- 
ham, at  Watnong.  Take  them  there  as  these 
cousins  are  wealthy.  My  husband  died  last 
year.' 

"  Mrs.  Whiting,  hearing  of  the  circumstan- 
ces, declared  with  loving  compassion  that  the 
mother  should  remain  with  her  until  the  rela- 
tives came  for  her. 

"  Well,  to  cut  a  long  story  short,  I  guess  it 
was  as  well  the  woman  did  not  see  these  rela- 
tives at  Watnong.  They  have  such  a  sense  of 
greed  that  it  is  a  wonder  to  me  they  have  any 
success  at  all.  We  went  there  and  found  that 
they  own  a  fine,  large  farm  and  have  an  ex- 
tensive dairy  which  supplies  the  city  market. 

"After  the  farmer  heard  the  story  of  the 
woman's  children,  with  the  note  referring  to 
him,  he  said  it  was  years  since  their  cousin 
Fred  Graham  visited  them  and  as  long  as  Fred 
was  gone,  not  providing  anything  for  his 
family,  there  was  no  sense  in  coming  to  him 
who  never  knew  the  children. 

" l  The  woman  waVt  no  blood  relation  any- 


i  io    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

ways,'  the  old  farmer  said.  { An'  as  it's  hayin' 
time  we  can't  stop  to  fuss  over  her  funeral.' 

"  I  very  quietly  asked  him  '  what  about  the 
children?' 

"  *  I  ain't  goin'  to  meddle  in  other  folks'es 
affairs.  I  pay  taxes  for  the  keep  of  the  County 
House  where  the  youngsters  can  find  room 
enough,  I  guess.'  Turning  to  his  son,  he  said, 
*  Come  on.  We're  losin'  time.  Time's  gettin' 
on,  an'  there's  that  load  of  hay  waitin'  at  the 
barn  for  us  to  fork  up  in  the  loft.' 

"  He  was  starting  off  in  the  direction  of  the 
barn  but  the  constable  laying  his  hand  on  the 
farmer's  shoulder,  showed  his  badge. 

" '  Wait  a  minute  my  good  man,'  he  said  sar- 
castically. c  We  have  a  form  of  identification 
for  you  to  fill  out.  If  you  refuse  to  come  with 
us,  I  can  arrest  you.' 

"  That  brought  the  farmer,  grudgingly.  Not 
a  line  of  his  hardened  face  relaxed  with  sym- 
pathy, as  he  read  the  note  and  identified  his 
cousin,  but  the  law  was  satisfied. 

"  I  had  a  lawyer  in  the  living-room,  draw- 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     in 

ing  up  some  papers  while  the  farmer  was  up- 
stairs, and  when  he  came  down  I  asked  him 
to  sign  them  so  no  further  trouble  need  be 
given  him. 

"  The  farmer  and  his  son,  after  reading  the 
paper  over,  signed  and  swore  to  the  agreement 
relinquishing  all  right  and  claim,  together 
with  responsibility,  to  the  children;  giving 
me  the  right  of  guardian,  providing  we  as- 
sume their  care  and  maintenance  until  matur- 
ity. 

"  The  old  man  seemed  to  think  he  had  the 
best  of  the  bargain  because  he  smiled  mali- 
ciously at  me  as  he  went  out  and  said: 

" '  I'm  much  obliged  to  you,  my  good  man, 
for  your  meddlin'.  Guess  I  got  out  of  this 
business  pritty  cheap,  after  all.' 

"  I  was  so  vexed  at  him  that  it  took  me  all 
the  way  home  to  realize  that  that  man  was  my 
own  brother  and  'twas  rank  error  that  acted 
in  such  manner." 

"  Steve,  I  think  you  were  led  to  that  farm 
this  morning,"  said  Mrs.  Dorand  gratefully. 


ii2    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  I  never  had  a  doubt  of  it.  I  consider  it 
a  divine  and  loving  demonstration  for  all  in- 
terested parties.  I  am  genuinely  happy  to 
think  I  have  been  able  to  do  a  little  good  in 
turn  for  all  I  have  received,"  replied  Dr.  Do- 
rand  earnestly. 

"  It  has  all  fitted  together  so  nicely,"  said 
Mrs.  Alvern,  rising  to  go  home.  "Nannie 
moving  from  the  cottage  in  time  to  give  place 
for  these  little  ones,  while  Mollie's  desire  to 
earn  some  money,  demonstrated  in  such  a  lov- 
ing way  in  taking  care  of  the  Society's  mem- 
bers. 

"  It  reminds  one  of  the  scriptural  text,  '  all 
things  worketh  Good  for  those  that  trust 
God.'" 

The  following  evening  Dr.  Dorand  came 
home  and  sat  on  the  porch  where  his  wife  was 
sewing.  Handing  her  a  newspaper  folded  so 
the  headlines  caught  her  attention,  he  said 
nothing,  but  awaited  her  remarks  when  she 
should  have  finished  reading. 

The  paragraph  marked  read  as  follows: — 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     113 

"  Last  night  the  barns  on  Farmer  Graham's 
place  at  Watnong  were  totally  destroyed  by 
fire.  The  loss  is  absolute  as  no  insurance  was 
carried,  and  the  entire  season's  hay,  excepting 
one  load,  was  stored.  The  homestead  was 
preserved  with  difficulty,  as  the  roof  and 
other  spots  ignited  and  were  badly  damaged. 
The  stock  houses  and  dairy  plant  taking  fire 
from  the  hay  sparks,  burnt  to  the  ground. 
New  filtering  and  sterilizing  machines  costing 
several  thousand  dollars  were  in  the  dairy 
house.  The  fire  is  supposed  to  have  originated 
from  a  haymaker's  pipe,  he  having  been  or- 
dered to  continue  work  while  the  farmer  was 
attending  to  a  personal  matter.  Being  acci- 
dental no  attachment  can  be  made." 

"Steve!"  gasped  Mrs.  Dorand,  "what  a 
punishment  for  error  to  give  its  victim.  Have 
you  told  the  others?" 

"  Jim  knows  about  it,  but  I  will  not  repeat 
it  to  anyone  else  as  we  know  there  are  no  acci- 
dents in  Mind,  so  I  do  not  wish  to  make  matter 
real,"  answered  the  doctor. 


ii4    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

The  Graham  children  were  very  happy  in 
their  new  environment.  Helen,  being  a  neat 
little  house-keeper  was  a  great  help  to  Mollie 
in  small  tasks;  Mary  delighted  in  feeding 
Joe's  chickens,  and  hunting  for  eggs.  Jim 
called  her  his  first-assistant,  as  she  raked  the 
garden  paths,  weeded  the  garden  and  cleaned 
destructive  bugs  from  the  plants. 

A  short  time  after  the  Graham's  were  domi- 
ciled, Mrs.  Whiting  called  to  see  them.  She 
smiled  as  they  all  sat  on  the  vine-covered 
porch  of  the  cottage,  Mollie  telling  of  the 
children's  doings.  Just  before  leaving,  Mrs. 
Whiting  took  up  a  huge  basket  and  removing 
the  cover,  displayed  a  roll  of  golden  butter,  a 
pair  of  dressed  chickens,  a  dozen  eggs  and 
some  fruit 

"These  are  our  contributions  toward  the 
little  ones'  keep.  Husband  and  I  decided  to 
'give  of  our  plenty,  to  these  motherless  chicks," 
said  Mrs.  Whiting,  her  voice  full  of  tender 
love.  "  We  are  so  thankful  our  dear  family 
are  healthy  and  happy,  it  seems  we  must  just 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    115 

do  somethin'.  My  husband's  been  thinkin'  a 
heap  of  prayin'  and  readin'  the  Scripters 
since  that  fire  of  old  Graham's,  and  he  says, 
*  Laura,  if  we  act  as  mean  as  Graham,  error 
will  come-back  at  us  too.  Let's  open  our 
hearts  to  help  some  one.' ' 

"  God  will  surely  remember  your  love, 
Mrs.  Whiting,"  said  Mollie,  earnestly,  while 
her  guest  wiped  her  moist  eyes  on  a  corner  of 
the  cloth  that  had  covered  the  butter. 

"  That  day  when  the  doctor  come  to  our 
place  to  see  the  cattle,  he  jest  told  my  man  of 
the  old-new  way  of  healin',  an'  he  told  him 
of  his  spine  disease  bein'  cured.  We  kin'  o' 
thought  he  was  queer  at  first,  when  he 
wouldn't  give  any  medicine  to  the  cows,  but 
they  began  to  git  better  at  gnce,  and  then  he 
was  so  spry  about  settlin'  the  girls3  papers. 

"  My  man  gits  out  the  family  Bible  what's 
always  kept  on  the  what-not  in  the  front  room, 
an'  begins  readin'  it. 

"  *  Laura,'  says  he  to  me,  '  the  doctor  said  I 
could  find  the  new  testament  full  of  the  won* 


n6    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

derful  healin's  of  people  by  Divine  Love,  an* 
I'm  goin'  to  find  out.' 

"  My  goodness!  Miss  Davis,  the  hull  book  is 
full  of  the  healin'  without  medicine.  It's  real 
comfortin'  readin'  too,  so  we  jest  got  to  readin' 
it  every  night  an'  it's  s'prisin'  where  our  wor- 
ries have  gone  lately." 

"  Mrs.  Whiting,  I  wish  you  could  come  to 
our  meetin'  Sundays  and  Wednesdays,"  said 
Mollie.  "  I'm  sure  it  would  help  you  to  under- 
stand our  Master's  True  Way." 

"  I  don't  see  why  we  couldn't  come  Wednes- 
days, 'cause  we  come  to  town  every  Thursday 
anyway,  so  we'll  jest  make  it  a  day  sooner,  an' 
arrange  to  stay  to  meetin',"  answered  she. 

Mollie  thought  she  had  said  enough  for  that 
time  but  she  ran  in  the  cottage  to  fetch  some 
Christian  Science  papers  to  Mrs.  Whiting, 
who  was  very  grateful  for  them. 

"  I  mos'  forgot  to  tell  you,  that  we'll  bring 
the  butter  and  what  else  is  in  season,  for  a  pres- 
ent each  week  for  God's  little  ones,"  said  Mrs. 
Whiting,  and  took  her  departure. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE   "  BENEFIT  "  CIRCUS 

/HT^  HREE  weeks  had  passed  since  Helen 
and  Mary  came  to  Love's  Home, 
where  they  felt  perfectly  contented.  Five 
dollars  was  paid  Mollie  each  week  from 
Love's  bank,  for  which  she  gave  Betty  and 
Rod  a  neat  little  receipt,  showing  them  how 
to  enter  payment  in  the  account  book.  New 
shoes  and  other  necessities  were  purchased  for 
the  two  girls  while  Mollie  altered  the  gar- 
ments given  them  by  Mrs.  Whiting. 

Joe's  dormer  room  became  quite  a  rendez- 
vous for  all  the  children;  they  delighted  in 
looking  at  his  books,  while  Joe  was  only  too 
happy  to  think  some  personal  property  of  his 
could  give  pleasure. 

One  day  while  the  children  sat  in  the  sum- 
mer-house reviewing  events  of  the  past  ten 
weeks,  Joe  came  in,  having  been  given  an 

afternoon's  holiday  by  Dr.  Anson. 

117 


ii8    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  I'm  mighty  glad  your  Aunty  invited  you 
to  that  circus,"  said  Joe,  reminiscently. 

"  If  she  hadn't  we  wouldn't  have  had  you, 
Joe,  would  we?"  said  Betty. 

"Well,  you  see,"  spoke  Rod,  thoughtfully, 
"we  were  instrumental  in  fulfilling  divine 
Love's  plans.  It  seems  wonderful  to  our 
small  understanding,  but  God's  plans  are  all 
igreat  and  marvelous.  You  know  that  poem, 
Betty, 

*  Love's  plans,  like  lillies  white,  unfold.'" 

There  was  an  unusual  pause  broken  finally 
by  Mary. 

"  I  wish  7  could  see  a  circus,"  she  ventured 
timidly.  "  One  time  mother  took  me  an' 
Helen  to  see  all  the  gold  wagons  and  beasteses 
march  past." 

"  I  can  remember  the  beautiful  lady  dressed 
in  pink  silk!"  said  Helen,  turning  to  Mary. 
"  She  sat  in  a  gold  chair  on  the  elephant's 
back!  And  the  big  band  that  played  from  the 
top  of  the  red  and  silver  wagon!" 

"Oh,   Nell,"   exclaimed    Mary,   "do   you 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     119 

recommember  the  awful  hipporatamus  that 
had  such  a  big  tooth!  " 

All  the  children  laughed,  Mary  joining  in, 
thinking  they  were  laughing  "  at  the  big 
tooth." 

"  Once,"  began  Joe  slowly,  as  if  recalling 
a  picture  of  vanishing  past  experiences,  "  the 
boy  that  was  so  good  to  me  had  a  pass  for 
Barnum's.  He  said  I  could  have  the  ticket  if 
I  wanted  to  go,  but  I  was  afraid  to  go  alone, 
so  I  sold  his  papers  on  the  corner  while  he 
earned  an  extra  quarter  by  doing  some  odd 
jobs  for  the  grocery  man;  and  we  went  to  the 
show.  Gee!  it  was  great!" 

"  Joe,  that  boy  was  a  *  good '  thought,"  an- 
nounced Betty,  decidedly. 

"  I  wish  he  was  here,"  replied  Joe  wist- 
fully. "  He  was  so  kind  to  me  that  I  feel 
greedy  while  enjoying  all  these  nice  things," 
and  he  waved  his  arm  about  comprehen- 
sively. 

"  You  needn't  worry  about  him,"  said  Rod 
cheerfully.  "  If  he  is  doing  i  good  '  in  the 


120    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

darkness,  Divine  Love  will  surely  lead  him  to 
the  light  when  the  time  is  right." 

"  I  like  to  hear  you  talk  that  way,  Rod," 
said  Joe,  smiling  again,  "  it  makes  it  easy  to 
kick  out  the  worry  and  know  it  is  our  right  to 
be  free  and  happy." 

While  they  were  talking,  old  Ben,  the 
horse,  was  cropping  grass  on  the  lawn.  As 
he  came  nearer,  Betty  noticed  that  Jim  had 
braided  his  mane  and  tail  in  small  braids  tying 
them  with  old  colored  ribbons.  The  sedate 
old  horse  appeared  so  frivolous  that  Betty 
laughed. 

"  Oh!  he  looks  just  like  a  i  pretend'  circus 
horse." 

The  children  all  laughed,  but  Rod  jumped 
up  and  ran  out. 

"  Come  on,"  he  called,  "  let's  play  circus  and 
ride  on  Ben's  back." 

Ben  enjoyed  the  sport  as  much  as  his  riders, 
seeming  loath  to  go  with  Jim,  when  he  came 
for  him. 

"Wouldn't  it  be  fun  to  have  a  make-believe 


circus?"  suggested  Betty,  as  the  children  sat 
under  the  trees  cooling  off,  after  their  frolic 
with  Ben. 

"  Say!  do  you  know  what!"  asked  Rod,  sit- 
ting bolt  upright  where  he  had  been  rolling  in 
the  grass. 

The  others  waited  impatiently  for  an  expla- 
nation, because  when  Rod  spoke  with  such 
energy  it  usually  portended  an  inspira- 
tion. 

"  Let's  have  an  amateur  circus  for  the  bene- 
fit of  our  Society!"  He  looked  about  with 
much  satisfaction  at  the  effect  his  idea  pro- 
duced. 

"  Oh,  say!  but  that's  a  great  scheme!"  said 
Joe,  admiringly. 

"  I  think  it's  grand!"  admitted  Betty,  look- 
ing at  Rod  as  if  he  were  the  discoverer  of  some 
new  wonder. 

"  Where' d  you  get  the  gold  wagons  with 
the  music?"  queried  Mary.  "Oh,  and  the 
animals?" 

"Where  would  you  have  it?"  asked  Helen, 


122    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

after  the  laughter  occasioned  by  Mary's  ques- 
tion had  subsided. 

"We  could  clean  out  the  barn  spic-an-span, 
and  have  the  animals  caged  up  in  the  stalls;  of 
course  Jim  would  help  us,"  said  Rod. 

They  had  talked  their  plans  over  thus  far, 
when  Clare  appeared  on  the  scene.  When 
told  of  the  circus  idea  she  hailed  it  with  en- 
thusiasm and  was  unanimously  elected  one  of 
the  troupe.  , 

"  Ben  can  be  our  performing  horse  while 
Jim  will  be  ring  master,  with  a  high  collar 
and  a  whip,"  said  Rod.  "  Won't  he  look 
funny?  " 

"  If  we  have  it  at  night  we  can  have  Japan- 
ese lanterns  on  the  trees,"  suggested  Betty, 
thinking  of  the  colored  lights  glimmering 
from  the  trees. 

"  But  how  could  we  see  to  perform?  "  asked 
matter-of-fact  Clare. 

"  And  the  grass  would  be  damp  and  the  ani- 
mals will  get  sleepy,  if  you  have  it  at  night," 
said  Joe. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     123 

"  Do  you  think  Mollie  and  Nan  would  join 
if  we  asked  them  to  be  in  it?  "  asked  Rod,  con- 
fidentially of  Joe. 

"Why,  I  don't  see  why  they  wouldn't.  We 
can  ask  'em,  anyway,"  answered  Joe. 

"Mollie  and  Nan  can  pretend  to  be  wild 
savages,  eh?"  asked  Rod. 

"  Maybe  Mollie  won't  like  to  stay  in  the 
barn  if  you  have  the  show  there,"  said  Helen, 
speaking  for  the  first  time.  "  I  think  you'll 
make  more  money  by  having  a  refreshment- 
table  on  the  lawn,  with  Mollie  in  charge  of 


it." 


"  Say,  Helen,  you've  got  a  great  business 
head  on  your  shoulders,"  announced  Rod  as 
they  all  agreed  that  Helen's  proposition  was  a 
good  one. 

"  I  don't  think  it  would  be  right  to  have 
ugly,  freaky  people,  either!"  remonstrated 
Betty,  emphatically.  "  God  made  everyone 
perfect  and  lovely,  and  it  would  be  error  to 
pretend  anything  contrary." 

"  That's  so ! "  answered  Rod.     "  We'll  have 


124    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

to  be  careful  not  to  be  led  by  error  into  any- 
thing where  Love  would  not  be  mani- 
fested." 

"  There's  a  lot  of  strange,  interesting  kinds 
of  people  we  can  imitate  without  using  error 
to  help  us,"  said  Clare,  and  then  continued : 

"At  church  fairs  they  always  have  a  grab- 
bag.  I  think  they're  a  pile  of  fun.  Can't 
Nannie  have  one  for  us?  " 

"  Sure  enough ! "  exclaimed  Betty.  "  She'll 
be  gladder  to  do  that  than  be  a  wild  woman ;  I 
know  I  would." 

"  Say,  it'll  take  a  long  time  to  practice, 
won't  it?  "  asked  Joe.  "  If  only  the  Dorand 
boys  were  home!  We  need  more  big  boys,  I 
think." 

The  Dorand  boys  were  visiting  an  uncle  in 
the  West. 

"  Cousin  Byram  and  Annette  are  coming  to 
visit  us  Saturday,  for  several  weeks;  Byram  is 
thirteen  and  Net  is  nine;  they'll  love  to  be  in 
it,  if  you'll  let  'em,"  said  Clare. 

"That's  fine!     I  think  we're  getting  along 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     125 

splendidly,"  said  Rod,  looking  about  for  cor- 
roboration. 

"All  except  the  main  thing,"  ventured 
Betty. 

"  What's  that,"  asked  all  in  unison. 

"  We've  not  asked  Love  to  guide  this  under- 
taking, and  'without  Love,  it  would  be  a  fail- 


ure." 


"Betty's  right,"  was  the  reply.  "We 
won't  plan  any  more  until  we  have  read  in  our 
text-books  and  worked  over  it  to  see  the  Good 
for  everybody  in  the  undertaking." 

Dr.  Dorand  took  a  letter  from  his  pocket 
that  evening  and  gave  it  to  his  wife.  Betty 
seeing  the  post-mark,  knew  it  was  from  her 
brothers. 

"  From  Bert,"  said  Mrs.  Dorand,  after 
reading  it.  "  He  says  they  expect  to  be  home 
the  latter  part  of  next  week.  There  are  so 
many  interesting  things  to  do  on  a  ranch,  he 
writes,  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  it  all  in  let- 
ters, so  we  will  not  hear  from  them  again  un- 
til they  start  for  home." 


ia6    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"They'll  just  be  in  time  for  our  circus!" 
exclaimed  Betty. 

"The  what?"  asked  her  father,  in  sur- 
prise. 

As  he  had  not  heard  of  the  "  benefit,"  Betty 
explained  to  him. 

"  Have  you  got  your  posters  out?  "  he  asked, 
laughing,  as  Betty  paused  for  breath.  "You 
know  a  circus  advertises  at  least  two  weeks  in 
advance,  so  people  will  save  their  money." 

"  Oh,  we  can't  be  so  stylish  as  to  have  post- 
ers," replied  Betty. 

When  the  rest  of  the  circus  company  heard 
the  Dorand  boys  would  be  home  in  time  for 
the  show,  there  was  general  rejoicing,  for 
they  would  prove  a  valuable  addition.  There 
was  no  doubt  now,  but  that  there  would  be 
sufficient  "  stars "  and  "  understudies "  for  the 
various  acts. 

As  much  interest  in  the  circus  was  mani- 
fested by  the  neighbors  as  if  a  national  cele- 
bration was  to  take  place.  Everyone  seemed 
desirous  of  helping.  Mrs.  Dorand  cut  out 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     127 

oblong    tickets  from  cardboard,  while  Mrs. 
Alvern  printed  them  in  a  very  neat  way. 


CIRCUS  BENEFIT  FOR  LOVE'S 
SOCIETY, 

Alvern's  Lawn, 

Tuesday,  August  7, 

at  2  P.   M. 

ADMIT  ONE. 


There  had  been  some  discussion  about  the 
price  of  admission,  but  Joe  said  it  would  be 
better  to  charge  ten  cents  and  have  a  crowd, 
making  more  money  in  selling  refreshments, 
than  by  asking  twenty-five  cents  and  only 
have  a  few.  The  logic  of  this  argument  was 
so  apparent,  that  they  all  acquiesced  in  the  ten 
cent  arrangement. 

No  one  had  thought  that  Dinah  would  like 
to  be  included  in  the  work,  until  one  morning 
in  the  kitchen,  when  Mrs.  Alvern  had  finished 
giving  some  orders. 

"  I  do  tink  lil'  massa  mought  hab  lem'me 


i28    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

sell  cookies  fer  de  sassiety!"  she  said  ag- 
grievedly.  "  He  tinks  dem  good  enuff  to 
eat." 

"  Why,  Dinah!  Would  you?  "  asked  Mrs. 
Alvern,  in  surprise.  "  I  know  they  would  be 
delighted  to  have  you  do  it." 

"'Deed  I  would,  honey!"  replied  Dinah, 
brightening  up  immediately. 

"Dinah,  you're  a  peach!"  shouted  Rod, 
running  into  the  kitchen  as  soon  as  he  had 
heard.  "  Everyone  will  want  to  buy  your 
cookies  because  they  know  you  make  the  bestes 
things  to  eat,  that  ever  was ! " 

Dinah  smiled  with  pleasure. 

"  Sich  a  lil'  honey-bird!  I  certain  am  glad 
I  lib  wid  sich  a  mighty  fine  fambly! "  she  mur- 
mured to  herself,  as  she  placed  her  hands  on 
her  ample  hips  and  planned  some  wonderful 
cookies. 

Betty's  brothers  arrived  and  being  informed 
of  the  tremendous  undertaking,  straightway 
entered  into  the  fun. 

"  I'll  be  a  l  wonder '  in  the  side-show,  but  I 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     129 

won't  let  anyone  in  the  secret,"  ejaculated 
Walter,  wagging  his  head  knowingly. 

"Say,  Bet,  can  I  be  door-keeper?"  asked 
Bert,  in  an  ingratiating  way.  "  I'll  not  allow 
anyone  to  have  a  peep  inside  without  pay- 
ing." 

"  Oh,  Bert!  We  forgot  all  about  having  a 
"door-tender,"  cried  Betty.  "  Of  course  you 
can  be  it." 

"All  right.  Then  we'll  consider  that  set- 
tled." 

Even  Laddie  seemed  so  interested  in  the  cir- 
cus proceedings  that  Betty  mentioned  it  one 
morning. 

"  I  b'lieve  Lad  wants  to  b'long  in  the  show, 
too.  Why  can't  he?  They  always  have 
trick-dogs  at  a  circus." 

There  being  no  objections,  Laddie's  name 
was  added  to  the  list  of  performers.  Then 
Betty  had  her  hands  full  trying  to  teach 
Clare's  poodle,  and  Laddie,  the  tricks  that 
were  expected  by  the  audience. 

About  a  week  before  the  circus  day,  Joe 


130    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

was  skipping  around  the  corner,  on  his  way 
home,  when  his  attention  was  attracted  to  a 
flaring  white  and  recj,  poster  on  Cook's  gro- 
cery store. 

The  attention  of  the  public  was  called  to  a 
wonderful  circus  about  to  be  held,  then  it  went 
on  to  say  where,  why  and  when,  with  the 
names  of  the  well-known  "  stars."  The  com- 
poser's art  had  certainly  not  omitted  anything 
to  make  the  advertisement  attractive. 

Meeting  the  other  boys,  Rod  heard  there 
were  twenty  posters  put  up  in  various  places; 
also,  that  Uncle  Dan  had  sent  in  for  fifty  tick- 
ets. 

"  And  paid  for  them  in  advance,  too," 
added  Betty. 

"  Uncle  Dan  "  was  a  universal  favorite  with 
all  the  children,  being  "uncle"  by  courtesy, 
to  the  entire  neighborhood. 

At  supper  that  evening,  Betty  found  a  pack- 
age on  her  plate.  She  looked  about  question- 
ingly,  but  everybody  was  listening  intently  to 
Dr.  Dorand's  account  of  a  western  bronco  that 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     131 

he  rode  while  visiting  his  grandfather's 
ranch. 

Tearing  off  the  wrapping  paper  Betty's  sur- 
prise expressed  itself  in  "ohs." 

A  neat  little  pile  of  programmes  lay  in  the 
package.  On  the  covers  were  pictured  a  cir- 
cus tent  with  crowds  of  people  about;  flags 
flying;  horses  prancing,  and  a  band  sitting  on 
a  balcony.  Oh,  it  was  grand!  Encircling 
the  picture,  some  gold  lettering  read  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  Souvenir  Programme  of  the  Grand  Circus 
held  for  the  Benefit  of  Love's  Society,  August 
7th,  Alvern's  Lawn." 

Betty  jumped  up  in  such  haste  to  reach  her 
father  that  her  chair  fell  over.  Hugging  him 
until  he  seemed  to  choke,  she  looked  wisely  at 
him. 

"  Now  we  know  who  stuck  all  those  posters 
up,"  she  said. 

"  Not  guilty! "  immediately  replied  the  doc- 
tor, laughing.  "  I  may  have  had  a  share  in 
the  transaction,  but  was  not  the  originator. 


132    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Uncle  Dan  and  his  friend,  Mr.  Lewis,  are  the 
culprits." 

Betty  was  told  how  Mr.  Lewis,  the  man  that 
owned  the  newspaper,  while  in  Uncle  Dan's 
office,  overheard  the  children  plan  the  show. 
Meeting  Jim  the  next  day,  Mr.  Lewis  found 
out  what  the  show  was  for,  and  he  then 
planned  the  poster  surprise. 

Gathering  her  programmes  together,  Betty 
ran  over  to  Alvern's.  In  a  short  time  the  en- 
tire "  troupe "  were  admiring  the  cards  and 
reading  descriptions  in  glowing  language  of 
the  wonderful  feats  about  to  take  place.  Such 
fine  sounding  names  were  given  the  perform- 
ers that  as  each  one  discovered  their  title,  it 
caused  much  mirth.  Jim  was  called  "  Profes- 
sor Davis";  Betty  was  "Bettini";  Clare  was 
"Claribel";  Rod  and  Joe  were  "  Rodimus 
and  Jodimus,"  etc. 

As  the  day  of  the  circus  drew  nigh  the  air 
vibrated  with  hasty  and  important  confer- 
ences. 

The  day  before  the  great  event,  Mrs.  Whit- 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     133 

ing  came  in  saying  she  had  heard  of  the  plan 
and  intended  bringing  her  children.  Pur- 
chasing the  tickets,  she  gave  a  huge  package 
to  Dinah,  and  took  her  leave.  Dinah,  opening 
the  package,  found  five  pounds  of  butter  and 
three  dozen  eggs  for  the  baking  of  the  cookies. 
An  attached  card  read: 

"  The  Whiting's  donation  to  the  benefit." 

The  circus  day  dawned  at  last! 

The  barn  was  trimmed  with  greens  and 
bunting,  until  it  looked  quite  festive.  Even 
Ben  forgot  his  appetite  for  oats,  in  the  general 
hubbub. 

On  the  lawn,  colored  lanterns  and  bunting 
hung  from  trees,  while  the  summer-house  was 
bristling  with  flags  in  every  direction.  Mol- 
lie's  stand  of  lemonade  and  candy,  on  one  side 
of  the  lawn,  competed  with  Dinah's  ever- 
green-decorated kitchen  table  on  the  other 
side. 

Dinah  had  mixed  and  baked  the  previous 
day  until  the  pantry  looked  like  a  hotel  supply 
company's  shop.  Immense  baskets  of  cookies, 


134    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

of  all  patterns  and  flavors,  were  ready  for  the 
consumer. 

Dinah,  herself,  was  resplendent  in  a  purple 
challie  gown  that  was  carefully  kept  in  tar- 
paper,  when  not  in  requisition,  being  its  own- 
er's most  precious  item  of  wardrobe  for  the 
past  twelve  years.  Appearing  to  the  public 
to-day,  after  puffing  and  prinking,  she  resem- 
bled a  glowing  dahlia. 

Jim  and  Bert  had  borrowed  the  drop-cloth 
from  Cogman's  paint-shop,  for  an  awning, 
stretching  it  from  the  corner  of  the  house  to 
the  trees. 

Hard,  narrow  boards,  arranged  in  rows  for 
seats,  were  jnore  like  the  real  circus  article 
than  anything  else.  They  rested  on  top  of 
soap-boxes,  so  one  had  to  sit  very  still  to  pre- 
vent the  whole  bgard  from  tipping  over. 

Jim  had  white-washed  an  old  dump-cart  for 
the  chariot  race,  draping  it  with  colored 

0 

bunting  and  wild  flowers  until  it  was  unrecog- 
nizable as  the  former  despised  cart. 

Dr.  Anson  had  purchased  some  tickets  f  rorrx 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     135 

Joe  and  given  him  permission  to  remain  home 
that  day. 

Immediately  after  noon  the  "troupe"  hur- 
ried to  the  barn  and  prepared  their  various 
parts  and  poses. 

Ben  had  been  curried  and  groomed  until  he 
looked  and  felt  as  he  had  twenty  years  before. 
Gay  rosettes  and  streamers  were  fastened  to 
his  halter,  and  standing  in  the  stall,  ever  and 
anon  reaching  up  to  chew  off  a  twig  of  ever- 
green, he  no  more  resembled  the  "steed"  an- 
nounced on  the  placard  over  his  head,  than  he 
did  the  battered  tin  horse  on  the  barn's 
weather-vane. 

When  the  side-shows  opened  for  the  public, 
they  certainly  presented  a  wonderful  and 
amusing  collection. 

In  the  first  stall,  Laddie  was  perched  on  a 
log,  tied  and  chained  to  prevent  him  from 
tearing  loose.  A  card  suspended  over  his 
head  announced  to' visitors  the  rarity  of  a 
"wolf"  like  Laddie;  how  difficult  to  trap; 
how  untamable  when  once  caught.  The  pub- 


136    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

lie  did  not  seem  intimidated,  however,  by  the 
warning  over  the  den  (?)  to  keep  hands  off, 
nor  did  the  ferocity  (?)  of  the  wolf's  expres- 
sion keep  them  from  patting  him  on  the  head. 
Poor  Laddie's  pleasure  in  this  part  of  the  show 
was  fettered,  but  his  captivity  was  sweetened 
by  the  children  feeding  him  candy  and 
cookies. 

Clare  represented  a  beautiful  Albani  lady, 
in  a  cheese-cloth  dress  draped  like  a  Grecian 
robe.  Wavy,  yellow  hair,  made  of  raveled 
manilla  rope,  was  sewed  to  a  cap,  close  fitting 
to  the  head,  while  her  face,  powdered  with 
corn-starch,  had  the  rare,  white-ivory  tint. 
Assuming  a  picturesque  pose,  she  languidly 
waved  a  fan  of  turkey  feathers,  in  the  latest 
eastern  style,  while  tin  bracelets  galore  jingled 
from  arms  and  ankles. 

Walking  down  past  the  stalls,  you  came  to 
some  colored  birds  of  strange  plumage,  which, 
upon  close  inspection,  discovered  certain  fa- 
miliar "  ear-marks."  One  would  scratch  and 
cluck,  while  the  other  ruffled  her  feathers  in 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     137 

contempt  and  dozed.  But  their  coloring  was 
truly  wonderful.  Bright  feathers  of  all  kinds 
and  colors  stuck  out  in  every  direction,  tied 
on  with  baby-ribbons,  which  gave  venerable 
Biddy  and  her  companion  a  rakish  look. 

Next  came  Clare's  black  poodle.  He  had 
been  fancifully  clipped  with  tufts  of  hair  left 
here  and  there.  Byram  had  shaken  bronze 
powder  all  over  him,  until  he  resembled  a  ver- 
itable gold  nugget,  as  the  card  inferred. 

A  corner  of  the  barn  was  curtained  off, 
where,  on  some  carriage  robes,  sat  Mary  and 
Annette,  wrapped  in.  Navajo  blankets,  with 
their  faces  streaked  with  colored  chalk.  A 
camp-kettle  hung  from  some  bean-poles  that 
stood  in  front  of  the  tent,  while  a  gun  and  some 
spears  from  Dorand's  cozy-corner  were 
grouped  behind.  What,  with  beads  around 
their  necks  and  feathers  coming  from  their 
hair,  they  gave  one  the  impression  that 
here,  indeed,  were  the  "  Last  of  the  Mohi- 


cans." 


It  took  some  guessing  who  the  wild  man 


138    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

from  Borneo  could  be.  Walter  had  found  an 
old  moth-eaten  buffalo  robe  in  the  hay-loft, 
which  he  wound  about  him  and  fastened  with 
tin  bands ;  an  unkempt-looking  wig  made  from 
a  hair  mattress  found  in  the  attic,  covered  his 
pate,  while  chains  of  corn  and  lima  beans 
hung  about  his  neck;  from  a  face  painted 
freely  with  red  chalk  mixed  with  grease,  a  set 
of  orange-rind  teeth  grinned  fiercely  at 
friends,  who  unanimously  declared  Walter  a 
good  fashion  plate  of  the  imported  Borneo 
type. 

Joe  was  the  strong  man  who  lifted  weights 
and  broke  thick  rods  of  iron.  The  surprised 
children  stood  with  their  eyes  wide  open, 
watching  Joe  lift  balls  of  iron,  marked  500  Ibs. 
Even  the  elders  thought  the  hollow  paper 
spheres  were  very  cunningly  joined  and  col- 
ored to  imitate  iron. 

The  smallest  baby  elephant  known,  was  a 
stuffed  toy  mounted  on  wheels,  about  the  size 
of  a  sheep,  that  had  been  sent  the  Dorand  boys, 
years  ago,  from  Aunt  Belle.  It  had  been  rele- 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     139 

gated  to  the  attic,  but  Betty,  while  searching 
for  trimmings,  found,  and  hailed  it  as  a 
money-maker.  Rod  was  appointed  custodian 
of  the  elephant,  and  rolled  it  about,  giving  the 
children  rides  for  a  cent  each. 

Betty  was  an  oriental  flower-girl  gotten  up 
regardless  of  style,  color  or  material.  A 
Turkish  fez  cap  perched  on  saucy  auburn 
curls;  a  Spanish  bolero  jacket  trimmed  with 
sequins;  a  Roman  scarf  wound  about  her 
waist;  and  a  long  Persian  print  looped  about, 
for  a  skirt;  these  with  a  pair  of  Japanese  slip- 
pers much  too  large  and  tied  on  her  feet  with 
bright  ribbons,  formed  a  combination  that 
Betty  fondly  considered  a  great  success.  She 
vended  a  large  basket  of  flowers  with  such 
persistence  that  they  were  sold  out  before  the 
ring-show  began. 

After  the  inspection  of  side-shows  was  over 
and  the  audience  had  laughed  over  the  won- 
ders, a  loud  voice  reached  the  barn. 

"Lem-m — on-n — ade,  fine,  sweet  lem-on- 
ade,  two  cents  a  glass." 


i4o    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Recognizing  Mollic's  voice  the  circus  goers 
smiled. 

Mollie  stood  in  the  summer-house  waving  a 
flag  to  attract  attention  to  the  refreshments 
waiting  to  be  sold. 

Dinah  fearing  she  would  be  overlooked  in 
the  rush  to  get  at  Mollie's  stand,  took  a  long 
breath  and  sent  forth  a  call  like  a  calliope. 

"  Heah!  Heah!  Come  to  dis  place  fust 
an'  git  you'  home  made  cakes,  an'  den  go  tak 
a  drink  ob  lemyonade,  when  you'se  good  an' 
tirsty!  " 

Dinah's  anxious  look  combined  with  her 
gala  dress  caused  everyone  to  laugh;  but 
Dinah  cared  little  for  their  laughing  as  long 
as  she  got  their  money. 

Mrs.  Alvern  went  among  the  crowd  be- 
seeching every  one  to  buy  peanuts,  while  Mrs. 
Dorand  tempted  the  nickels  from  pockets  of 
people  who  never  ate  pop-corn.  Marion  was 
busy,  back  and  forth,  getting  small  change  for 
all  parties. 

Presently  the  ring-master  came  out  while 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     141 

the  crowd  settled  down  for  the  ring  perform- 
ance. 

Jim  strutted  about,  snapping  a  whip,  while 
a  centenarian  silk  hat  tilted  over  his  nose,  and 
artificial  black  mustachios  having  a  fierce 
twist  at  the  ends,  made  him  appear  quite  dis- 
tingue. 

"  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,"  Jim  began, 
twisting  his  neck  free  from  the  tight  grip  of  an 
unusually  high  collar;  "you  have  come  here 
this  afternoon  to  see  the  wonders  of  your 
block.  (The  audience  laughed.)  This  great 
show  has  been  gathered  together  at  great  risk 
and  cost — a-hem — that  is " 

Jim  looked  at  Dr.  Dorand  beseechingly  for 
a  cue  to  the  balance  of  his  speech,  but  the  doc- 
tor laughed  and  shook  his  head. 

"  Well,  then,  risk  to  your  furniture  an' 
clothin'  an'  temper.  (Laughter.)  We'll  now 
hustle  up  the  rest  of  the  show  and  cut  out  the 
balance  of  my  elercution." 

When  Jim  made  a  low  bow  everyone 
laughed  and  clapped  their  hands.  Mounting 


142    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

an  inverted  butter-tub  while  flourishing  his 
whip,  Jim  called  out  "  Hoop-la." 

The  barn-door  swinging  open  at  the  signal, 
Ben  walked  sedately  out  with  Clare  perched 
airily  on  his  back.  Her  cheese-cloth  dress 
was  festooned  with  ribbons  and  spangles,  and 
waving  a  tinsel  wand  in  one  hand  she  threw 
kiss-hands  with  the  other.  When  the  audi- 
ence clapped,  old  Ben  stood  still  to  gaze  com- 
placently about.  Jim  chirped  to  him,  while 
holding  up  a  paper  hoop  for  Clare  to  jump 
through,  but  Ben,  spying  a  little,  fresh-looking 
tuft  of  grass,  walked  unconcernedly  over  to 
and  began  chewing  it.  As  Clare  almost  slid 
off  when  he  reached  down  for  the  grass,  every- 
one laughed  while  Jim  came  over  to  stir  him 
up  a  bit.  Highly  indignant  at  the  public  re- 
buke, Ben  started  so  unexpectedly,  that  Clare 
clutched  his  mane  as  he  defiantly  cantered 
toward  his  pasture  lot  back  of  the  barn. 
Clare's  exit  was  so  different  from  her  stately 
entrance  that  everyone  screamed  with  mirth. 

When  Professor  Davis  announced  the  next 


Betty  waving  her  wand  toward  Clare's  poodle 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     143 

act,  Betty  danced  into  the  ring  with  her  won- 
derful trick  dogs.  Laddie  enjoyed  Betty's 
waltzing  so  much  that,  barking  and  jumping 
about  her,  he  caught  the  mosquito  netting 
drapery  in  his  mouth  and  carried  off  a  long 
strip  of  it  to  the  other  side  of  the  lawn. 

"That's  a  bully  trick!"  called  out  a  boy's 
voice  from  the  rear,  causing  everyone  to 
laugh. 

Jim  called  Laddie  back,  and  Betty  scolded 
him  for  not  behaving  properly,  while  he 
looked  up  in  her  face,  wagging  his  tail  under- 
standingly.  Two  tubs  and  some  tiny  trestles 
had  been  placed  on  a  mat  by  the  Professor  and 
Betty  waving  her  stick  at  the  tub,  Laddie 
climbed  laboriously  up  and  stood  gingerly  on 
it.  Betty,  waving  her  wand  toward  Clare's 
poodle,  he  also  attempted  to  rise  to  the  super- 
ior elevation  of  his  companion  in  misery,  but 
was  just  successful  in  getting  his  four  feet  too 
near  one  side  when  the  whole  tub  rolled  over 
on  him,  causing  him  to  scamper  home  as  fast 
as  he  could  go.  (Great  cheering  and  laugh- 


i44    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

ter.)  Laddie  went  through  all  the  tricks 
Betty  had  so  patiently  taught  him,  earning 
honestly,  the  applause  given  at  the  end  of  his 
act. 

The  acrobats  and  trapeze  performers,  ordin- 
arily known  to  the  assemblage  as  Rod,  Joe 
and  Byram,  then  took  their  parts  with  great 
enthusiasm.  When  the  rest  of  the  boys  joined 
in  racing,  jumping  and  wrestling,  the  juvenile 
portion  of  the  audience  "shoo-ed"  on  their 
brothers  or  friends. 

An  unforeseen  pause  occurring  here,  Jim 
left  his  post  to  investigate.  While  he  was 
gone  Dinah  walked  into  the  ring  and  sang  old 
plantation  airs  in  her  southern  dialect.  It 
was  so  unexpected  and  spontaneous  that  it 
proved  the  "hit"  of  the  circus.  Dinah  fin- 
ished, and  bowing  with  great  dignity,  a  storm 
of  applause  showed  that  the  audience  appre- 
ciated the  act. 

Jim  came  back  to  duty  followed  by  the 
Roman  chariot  with  little  Mary  dressed  as  a 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    145 

sprite,  sitting  among  wild  flowers,  and  Helen 
driving  the  Roman  steed.  It  seems  the  delay 
was  caused  by  Ben,  who  refused  to  be  beguiled 
from  his  pasture-lot  even  with  a  pail  of  oats. 
With  a  comical-looking  resigned  air,  Ben 
valiantly  tugged  the  white-washed  cart  over 
the  grass  whilst  it  creaked  so  ominously  that 
Mrs.  Whiting  who  sat  in  the  front  seat  feared 
it  would  fall  apart. 

When  the  chariot  halted  in  the  middle  of 
the  ring,  Bert  and  Ned  climbed  in  to  auction 
off  the  contents  of  the  grab-bag. 

"  Friends,  please  assist  in  emptying  this  bag 
and  your  purses  at  the  same  time,"  called  Ned. 

"  Before  I  forget  it,  I  would  like  to  say  that 
if  anyone  here  feels  as  if  they  did  not  get  their 
money's  worth  to-day,  we  will  give  a  compli- 
mentary ticket  to  our  next  show,  to  be  held  a 
few  years  hence,"  Bert  announced,  to  fill  in  the 
pause  while  Ned  untied  the  snarled  draw- 
strings of  the  bag. 

The  articles  in  the  grab-bag  were  sent,  al- 


146    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

ready  wrapped,  by  Mr.  Hilman  as  his  dona- 
tion, and  as  they  were  auctioned  off,  much 
laughing  was  heard  as  the  packages  were 
opened  by  the  purchaser. 

Dr.  Dorand  then  stood  up  in  the  cart. 

"Friends,  as  long  as  we  have  the  auction 
fever  just  now,  suppose  I  sell  the  rest  of  the 
cakes  so  I  won't  have  to  eat  them,  warmed 
over  for  to-morrow's  dinner." 

When  Dinah  saw  her  cookies  bring  such 
high  prices  she  sighed  audibly. 

"  Laws-a-massy-me!  I  cert'ny  wish'd  I'd 
baked  free  times  as  many." 

From  a  "  professional's  "  point  of  view,  the 
circus  was  a  failure,  but  the  audience  declared 
they  had  had  more  fun  than  if  they  had  wit- 
nessed a  dollar  show.  To  please  the  audience 
is  the  important  thing,  especially  when  it  com- 
bines with  financial  success. 

The  receipts  of  the  "  benefit  "  came  to  sixty- 
two  dollars  and  forty  cents.  The  children 
being  told  the  amount  gained  by  such  fun  as 
they  had  had,  could  hardly  believe  it. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     147 

Later  when  Betty  and  Rod  placed  the 
money  in  Love's  bank,  Betty  whispered: 

"  Rod,  it  wasn't  the  show  that  made  the 
money  come.  It  was  Love  renewing  our 
funds  so's  we  can  help  some  more." 


CHAPTER  XI 

"THEN  THE  EAR" 

TIT  OTHER,  when  can  we  have  the  pic- 
nic you  promised  us  a  long  time 
ago?"  asked  Rod,  one  day  late  in  August, 
when  rumors  of  school  filled  the  air. 

"  I'll  see  some  of  the  neighbors  to-day  and 
if  convenient,  we'll  have  it  next  week,"  replied 
Mrs.  Alvern. 

So  the  picnic  invitations  were  sent  out  for 
the  following  week. 

The  day  of  the  picnic  dawned  bright  and 
beautiful.  Long  before  the  appointed  time 
Alvern's  lawn  was  crowded  with  children  who 
ran  down  to  the  gate  every  five  minutes  to 
see  if  they  could  see  the  carriages  that  were  to 
take  them  to  the  lake. 

"  Here  they  come! "  shouted  Byram,  as  two 
large  carry-alls  came  in  sight. 

149 


150    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Byram's  announcement  caused  such  a  com- 
motion! 

"  Hurrah ! "— "  They're  coming  "— "  Hurry 
up  " — "  Is  everybody  here?  " — "  Count  up  and 
see  " — and  various  other  calls  from  impatient 
children. 

While  Mollie  stowed  the  lunches  under  the 
seats,  some  of  the  boys  climbed  up  with  the 
driver  and  others  crowded  inside.  Jim,  Mol- 
lie and  Nan  went  in  the  carry-all  to  maintain 
harmony,  while  Mrs.  Alvern  drove  with  Mrs. 
Dorand,  in  the  phaeton. 

Arriving  at  Speedwell  Lake  after  an  half 
hour's  pleasant  drive,  the  wagons  halted  in  a 
grove  of  trees.  The  shouting  of  the  chil- 
dren as  they  scattered  about,  seemed  to  come 
from  ten  times  as  many  as  were  actually 
there. 

"Here,  girls!"  called  Mollie,  "you  should 
all  help  with  the  house-keepin'  by  puttin'  the 
lunch  baskets  and  rugs  away." 

"  Yes,  while  the  boys,  as  providers,  should 
find  the  amusements,"  added  Mrs.  Alvern. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    151 

Bert  and  Jim  put  up  the  swings  while  Ned 
and  Walter  went  off  to  secure  some  boats. 

Rod  and  Joe  having  set  out  the  croquet  for 
some  girls,  ran  to  the  water's  edge  and  pulling 
off  their  shoes  and  stockings,  splashed  about  in 
the  water  with  much  enjoyment. 

V  This  is  fine  fun ! "  called  Rod  to  those  on 
shore.  "Come  on  in,  why  don't  you?" 

"Ooch!  My  toe!"  cried  Joe  at  that  mo- 
ment, stubbing  his  toe. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Rod,  wading  over  to 
see. 

"Feels  like  an  iron  rail  runnin'  under  the 
water,"  answered  Joe,  probing  along  toward 
the  shore,  until  a  track  began  to  show  above 
the  water.  The  boys  following  it  through 
the  grass,  found  it  terminated  at  an  old,  aban- 
doned ice-house  where  there  were  several 
shallow  carts  standing;  these  had  been  used  to 
draw  up  ice  from  the  lake  to  the  storage  house, 
but  had  not  been  in  use  for  years. 

"Reminds  me  of  a  chute-the-chute,"  re- 
marked Byram. 


152    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  Say,  that's  a  fine  idea.  Let's  see  if  they 
will  go  down,"  exclaimed  others. 

The  boys  found  that  by  weeding  out  the 
overgrown  grass  from  about  the  tracks,  the 
ice-carts  would  make  a  tolerable  chute. 

Rod  said  it  was  a  demonstration  for  their 
pleasure,  but  Betty  declared  they  must  wait 
until  she  asked  her  mother  to  see  about  it. 

Mrs.  Dorand  ascertained  that  the  house 
and  carts  were  abandoned,  so  she  consented  to 
their  riding.  She  remained  at  the  top  of  the 
track  to  assist,  and  as  the  empty  carts  were 
pulled  up  by  the  rope  attached  to  a  ring  in  the 
upper  side,  she  would  pair  the  children  off  so 
all  would  share  equally  in  the  sport.  Bert 
and  Jim  stood  at  the  bottom  of  the  incline  to 
stop  the  cars  before  they  reached  the  water. 
This  fun  lasted  until  Ned  and  Walter  were 
seen  in  some  boats  on  the  lake  rowing  toward 
shore,  and  then  followed  a  general  stampede 
for  the  boats.  A  few  children  remained  at 
the  chutes,  but  Mrs.  Dorand  asked  them  to 
come  with  her;  when  they  refused,  she  said 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     153 

they  must  not  think  of  riding  in  the  carts  with 
no  one  at  the  bottom  to  catch  them.  As  no  an- 
swer was  made,  she  went  over  to  join  the  party 
which  was  preparing  to  go  out  in  the  boats. 

Mrs.  Dorand  went  in  one  boat  while  Mar- 
ion got  in  the  other,  to  watch  the  little  ones. 
Mrs.  Alvern  decided  to  remain  on  shore  to  as- 
sist Mollie  and  Nan  with  the  lunch. 

After  the  lunch  was  prepared,  Mrs.  Alvern 
bethought  herself  of  some  beautiful  golden- 
rod  that  she  saw  in  a  near-by  field  and  started 
off  to  gather  some  for  the  table. 

Mollie  and  Nan  were  watching  the  boats 
slowly  recede  from  view,  around  the  bend, 
when  they  were  startled  by  cries  and  a  splash. 

"Oh,  Nan,  see  those  disobedient  children!" 

The  children  remaining  at  the  chute  had  fin- 
ally succumbed  to  temptation.  Grace  Rod- 
man asking  Byram  to  stop  the  cart  when  it 
rolled  down  the  bottom  of  the  track,  got  in, 
followed  by  a  smaller  child,  and  sat  down. 
Someone  giving  a  hard  push,  the  cart  rolled 
down  the  incline  gathering  momentum  as  it 


154    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

went.  Byram,  clutching  at  it,  was  dragged 
over  on  his  face  as  the  cart  rushed  on  down — 
splash!! — into  the  water,  running  some  dis- 
tance out  on  the  track  before  it  stuck  in  the 
mud.  The  children  screamed  with  fright, 
while  Mollie  and  Nan  ran  to  their  assistance, 
to  find  the  cart,  at  least  ten  feet  out  from  the 
shore. 

"Nan,  this  is  a  mortal  night-mare,"  said 
Mollie,  as  kicking  off  her  slippers,  she  caught 
up  her  skirts.  "  Love  takes  care  of  all  and  I 
am  guided  and  shown  what  to  do  NOW." 

"Oh,  if  the  doctor  or  Jim  were  only  here," 
wailed  Nannie,  following  her  sister's  example 
in  pulling  off  her  shoes. 

"  God  is  here,"  declared  Mollie  fervently, 
wading  out  to  the  cart.  "Who  more  could 
we  want?  He  knows  our  need  and  has  al- 
ready heard  me." 

Mollie,  realizing  that  God  showed  her  just 
what  to  do,  endeavored  to  push  the  cart  but 
found  it  too  deeply  embedded  in  the  mud,  and 
as  the  girls  were  too  heavy  to  carry,  she  kept 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     155 

their  heads  above  water  while  she  steadied 
their  feet  on  the  edge  of  the  cart.  Looking 
about  her,  Mollie  saw  the  rope  from  the  end 
of  the  cart,  float  up  to  the  surface  of  the  water. 

"  Here,  Byram! "  she  called,  "you  and  Nan 
pull  with  all  your  might  on  this  rope,  while  I 
hold  these  children  on  the  cart,  and  £ush!" 

So,  pulling  and  pushing,  the  cart  slowly  be- 
gan to  roll  up  the  track  to  shore. 

The  children,  pictures  of  error  and  its  pun- 
ishment, stood  on  the  bank  with  garments 
dripping  muddy  water,  while  their  faces  still 
expressed  the  fright  they  had  had.  Mollie 
and  Nan  washed  and  cleaned  them,  while 
kindly  but  firmly  correcting  the  error. 

"  You  see,  dearies,  when  we  are  disobedient 
to  a  good  order,  we  generally  get  our  punish- 
ment from  error.  Of  course,  if  we  refuse  to 
be  governed  by  God  we  give  up  to  the  enemy 
and  everything  happens  to  those  who  shut  out 
Love  and  take  in  error." 

"We  didn't  mean  to  be  disobedient,"  an- 
swered Anne,  the  smaller  child. 


156    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  Byram  made  us  ride,"  said  Grace,  un- 
truthfully, looking  at  the  repentant  boy  who 
stood  by  feeling  very  sorry  for  his  share  in  the 
disaster. 

"Oh,  no!  Byram  couldn't  make  you  do  a 
thing,  unless  you  were  willing  to  do  what  error 
planned,"  said  Mollie. 

"Well,  I  don't  care!  It  was  all  his  fault 
anyway.  Why  didn't  he  catch  the  cart  as  he 
was  told?"  retorted  Grace,  feeling  hateful 
toward  everyone. 

"  Let  us  whisper  to  Love  to  make  us  good, 
so  we  may  enjoy  the  balance  of  this  day  with 
God's  protection,"  admonished  Mollie.  "  If 
you  say  and  think  t  I'm  not  wrong  any  more, 
I'm  God's  own  child,  watched  over  and  kept, 
good  and  safe  with  Him,'  you  will  be  all 
right!" 

Mollie  finished  cleansing  the  children  as 
she  spoke  and  Nan  hung  their  garments  on  the 
bushes  to  dry. 

"  I'll  catch  cold  if  I  put  on  damp  clothes," 
cried  Grace  petulantly. 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     157 

She  and  Anne  were  wrapped  up  in  shawls 
while  their  clothes  were  drying,  so  Grace  felt 
anything  but  agreeable,  sitting  back  under  the 
bushes  unable  to  move  from  the  folds  of  the 
woolen  shawl. 

"  Your  garments  will  be  dry  before  you  put 
them  on,"  quietly  answered  Mollie,  "  and 
you  won't  take  cold  unless  you  allow  mortal 
mind  to  tell  you  so." 

"  Let's  ask  God  to  keep  error  away  so  it 
can't  find  even  a  teeny  place  to  crawl  in  with 
a  cold,"  whispered  Anne,  after  some  hestita- 
tion.  Looking  up  at  Mollie,  she  added :  "  My 
mama  said  she'd  rather  b'lieve  in  a  Good 
loving  Father,  than  the  kind  she  used  to  think 
brought  her  sorrow  and  troubles." 

"  Dear  child,"  said  Mrs.  Alvern,  who  had 
come  up  in  time  to  overhear  Anne's  words, 
"  our  dear  Father  who  is  all  love  could  not  do 
anything  unlike  love.  He  gives  us  Good  in 
everything." 

When  Mrs.  Dorand  and  Marion  heard  of 
the  incident,  Mrs.  Dorand  said: 


158    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  Even  this  has  turned  out  some  good,  for  it 
has  brought  us  the  knowledge  of  Anne's 
mother  groping  for  Truth ;  now  we  can  give 
her  a  light." 

The  hungry  children,  when  seated  on  the 
grass  enjoying  the  feast,  started  talking  about 
the  accident. 

"Children!"  firmly  rebuked  Mrs.  Alvern, 
"  let  us  not  talk  or  think  of  it  again.  Forget 
it!" 

"  What  shall  we  play  when  we  have  finished 
lunch?"  asked  Mrs.  Dorand,  to  distract  their 
attention.  "  Let  us  vote  to  see  what  games 
we  shall  play  first." 

"'London    Bridge    is    Falling    Down," 
called  one  voice. 

"  Oh,  I  want  to  play  Harvest  Wedding," 
said  another. 

"No,  no!  Let's  play  Ring-a-Rosy,"  ex- 
claimed another;  so,  with  cries  of  "  Drop  the 
Handkerchief,"  and  other  games,  the  children, 
finishing  the  meal  joyously,  hopped  off  to 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     159 

play.  Grace  and  Anne  were  dressed  again, 
but  not  very  pretty-looking.  Anne  went  with 
the  other  children  to  play,  but  Grace  felt  too 
stubborn  and  moody  to  join  in  any  game  sug- 
gested, and  finally  wandered  to  the  boats 
where  Frank  Hascom  was  fishing. 

"  Grade,"  called  Mrs.  Dorand  after  her, 
"  do  not  go  in  the  boats,  will  you,  dear?" 

"Who's  going  to,"  snapped  Grace  imperti- 
nently; her  mussed  clothes  and  uncomfortable 
condition  making  her  so  inharmonious  that 
she  allowed  error  to  induce  her  to  be  dis- 
obedient as  well  as  untruthful  by  asking  Frank 
to  play  in  the  boat. 

"They're  tied,"  said  she.  "Besides,  I 
never  saw  anyone  so  particular  about  their  old 
picnic." 

"  I  guess  you're  mad,"  returned  Frank, 
significantly. 

"Well,  my  mama  said  she  hated  to  let  me 
come!  She  just  knew  something  would  hap- 
pen where  people  never  bother  about  anything, 


160    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

but  just  prayin'  Love  all  the  time,  to  do  every- 
thing for  them,"  said  Grace,  looking  back  at 
the  party  with  a  spiteful  expression. 

"Oh,  pshaw!  "  ejaculated  Frank  carelessly. 
"  Let's  forget  prayin'  and  have  a  good  time. 
I'm  playin'  I'm  a  fisherman  who  goes  out  to 
fish  on  the  ocean." 

Frank  tied  some  twine  to  a  sapling  and  gave 
it  to  Grace,  who  played  with  it  for  a  time,  but 
with  the  impatience  of  error  for  more  exciting 
fun,  looked  about  for  something  else.  "We 
can  push  this  boat  over  to  the  other,  with  the 
oar,"  suggested  she,  suiting  the  action  to  the 
words. 

"Oh,  say!"  exclaimed  Frank.  "I'll  jump 
in  the  other  boat  while  you  stay  here;  we'll 
push  them  back  and  forth,  playin'  we're 
steamers  meetin'  at  sea.  We  can  exchange 
goods,  and  signal  to  each  other  and  every- 
thing." 

They  became  very  much  interested  in  this 
play  and  had  they  stopped  at  that  all  would 
have  been  well,  but  as  the  ropes  gave  them  so 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     161 

little  latitude,  they  were  let  out  to  their  full 
length.  Frank  sprang  back  in  the  boat  with 
Grace,  saying  he  would  tie  the  fishlines  to  the 
rope  to  give  them  a  longer  sweep. 

"Oh,  goodie!  that'll  be  fine!"  abetted 
Grace. 

Frank  tied  the  line,  then  sat  down  to  see 
how  far  it  would  allow  them  to  float.  The 
boat  floated  slowly  out,  but  the  tide  caught  it 
broadside,  which  added  a  strain  on  the  rope 
and  caused  the  twine  to  slip  off.  Grace  was 
frightened,  but  Frank  chuckled  softly. 

"  Keep  still.  Don't  let  'em  know  we  untied 
it.  I'll  catch  these  branches  and  pull  our- 
selves back." 

"  Can  you  do  it? "  asked  Grace,  anx- 
iously. 

"Sure!"  answered  Frank,  proudly,  trying 
to  catch  the  over-hanging  branch  as  the  boat 
floated  under,  but  he  just  missed  it. 

"  Gee!  Here's  a  pickle,"  cried  he.  "  Give 
me  an  oar,  quick!"  exclaimed  Frank. 

Grace  was  about  to  pass  it  over,  but  Frank 


1 62    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

in  his  haste  to  get  it,  stumbled  on  the  fish-pole 
and  fell  over  the  seat,  while  the  oar  splashed 
in  the  water  and  floated  down  stream. 

"Now  what  shall  we  do?"  whimpered 
Grace. 

"Oh,  we're  all  right!"  replied  Frank,  re- 
assuringly. 

Error  had  gradually  led  the  children  into 
folly  and  now  its  victims  feared  punishment 
instead  of  denying  its  power  and  refusing  to 
submit  further  to  its  control. 

The  current  carried  the  boat  slowly  at  first 
while  the  two  children  endeavored  to  catch 
the  branches,  but  one  after  another  they 
slipped  by  them. 

Frank,  noticing  how  much  faster  they  were 
moving,  became  frightened  and  called  loudly 
for  help,  but  the  party  on  shore  had  gone  to 
the  woods  for  flowers. 

"What  shall  we  do?"  moaned  Grace. 

Frank  said  nothing  but  sat  in  the  bow  of  the 
boat  with  pallid  face.  After  a  long  pause  he 
ventured: 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     163 

"Grace,  can  you  swim?" 

"  Oh,  mercy,  no!  I'm  afraid  of  water!"  said 
she  as  she  gazed  down  in  terror  at  the  tiny 
ripples. 

"  I  was  going  to  say  we'd  better  jump  and 
try  to  swim  to  that  island,  when  we  get  oppo- 
site," said  Frank,  pointing  one  trembling  hand 
in  the  direction  of  the  land. 

"Oh,  no!  no!  I  never  can  do  that!  I'd 
drown  sure,"  said  Grace,  beginning  to  cry  in 
mortal  fear. 

"Well,  I  can  swim,  but  I  won't  leave  you 
alone,"  said  Frank,  looking  at  the  now  reced- 
ing island  wistfully. 

During  another  long  pause,  Grace  con- 
tinued crying  helplessly. 

"  Stop  cryin',  Grace,  and  pray!"  whispered 
Frank,  fearfully.  "  We're  in  the  channel  that 
goes  down  to  the  mill." 

This  development  of  new  danger  hushed 
Grace  instantly,  showing  her  the  futility  of 
tears. 

"  Oh,  Frank,  if  we  only  knew  Mollie's  way 


1 64    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

of  prayin'  we  could  be  saved.  She  gets 
answers  right  away,"  said  Grace. 

"Can't  you  remember  how  she  prays? 
Hurry  up ! "  cried  Frank  anxiously. 

"  They  don't  talk  out.  They  just  close  their 
eyes  and  think  what  they  need,"  whispered 
Grace,  puckering  her  brow  in  the  earnest  en- 
deavor to  remember  how  to  pray  the  right 
way. 

Frank,  thinking  their  time  was  short  when 
he  heard  the  mill-wheel  whirring,  dropped  in 
the  bottom  of  the  boat  and  covering  his  face 
with  his  hands  groaned  aloud. 

"  Oh  dear  God  save  us!  We  want  to  pray 
the  right  way  but  don't  know  how.  We  know 
we're  naughty  children  but  we'll  try  to  be 
good  if  someone  will  show  us  how,  for  Jesus' 
sake,  Amen." 

Grace  closed  her  eyes  while  Frank  prayed 
but  now  they  sat  watching  the  swift  current 
as  it  hurried  them  down  toward  the  mill. 

When  the  party  on  shore  came  back  to  the 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     165 

grove,  Mrs.  Dorand  glanced  instinctively  to- 
ward the  boats  and  missing  one,  she  sent  out 
Bert  and  Ned  in  the  other.  Going  to  a  se- 
cluded spot,  she  worked  mentally  with  All- 
Power  and  Love,  knowing  with  the  faith  that 
comes  from  experiences,  that  Grace  and  Frank 
were  safe  in  Love. 

Mrs.  Alvern  meanwhile  sent  Walter  with 
Rod  and  Joe  down  along  the  shore  to  seek  for 
the  missing  children,  then  gathering  the  other 
little  ones  about  her,  she  spoke  reassuringly  of 
their  playmates'  safety. 

"  They  are  God's  perfect  children  but  mor- 
tals are  tempted  by  error  into  these  beliefs  of 
accident  which  come  through  error.  God 
would  have  us  always  happy  and  free  but  we 
do  not  understand  His  love  well  enough  to 
keep  from  seeming  trouble. 

"  Suppose  we  sing  a  song  that  some  of  us 
know,"  continued  Mrs.  Alvern,  and  not  wait- 
ing for  an  answer  she  began  singing  the  beau- 
tiful hymn  written  by  Mrs.  Mary  Baker  G. 
Eddy, — "  Shepherd  show  me  how  to  go." 


1 66    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

The  children  listened  with  close  attention  to 
the  beautiful  words  and  sweet  melody  sung 
by  those  who  knew  it.  Finishing  that,  several 
other  hymns  were  sung  and  then  Mrs.  Dorand 
joined  the  group  just  as  a  shout  caused  them 
to  look  toward  the  water,  where  Bert  and  Ned 
were  towing  the  runaway  boat  with  Grace  and 
Frank  in  it.  A  prayer  of  thanks  immediately 
came  from  grateful  hearts. 

Without  allowing  anyone  to  ask  questions, 
Mrs.  Alvern  called  out  that  the  wagons  were 
waiting  near  the  road. 

"  It's  very  nearly  six  o'clock,  too,"  added 
Mrs.  Dorand,  "so  tget  your  belongings  to- 
gether and  we  can  start  for  home." 

Upon  questioning  Bert,  the  answer  to  prayer 
seemed  marvelous. 

"  We  rowed  out  for  dear  life,"  said  Bert, 
"  to  where  we  rounded  the  point  of  land  that 
hid  the  lower  lake  from  us.  Seeing  a  tiny 
speck  down  by  the  sluice-way,  we  got  in  with 
the  current  and  fairly  flew  through  the  water. 
Nearing  the  boat,  I  saw  a  patch  of  drift-wood 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     167 

and  weeds,  that  had  been  catching  on  an  old 
snag  sticking  out  of  the  water.  The  amount 
of  trash  caught  there  made  quite  an  island, 
into  which  the  boat  with  the  kids  had  run 
and  stuck  so  fast  we  had  quite  a  pull  to  get 
it  out." 

That  evening  Grace  and  her  mother  called 
to  thank  the  boys  for  their  help. 

"  No  thanks  are  due  us.  We  only  acted  as 
God  directed.  He  it  was  that  saved  those 
children  '  from  the  snare  of  the  fowler,' "  an- 
swered Bert,  earnestly. 

"  Our  God  is  an  ever-ready  help  in  time  of 
need,"  quoted  Mrs.  Dorand. 

"  Well,  I  thank  your  God  for  his  help  to- 
day," answered  Mrs.  Rodman.  This  coming 
from  one  whose  human  will  was  known  to  be 
unmoveable,  was  another  revelation  of  God's 
divine  Love.  "  I  came  down  expressly  to  hear 
more  of  this  faith  that  shows  such  wonderful 
works.  To  be  quite  frank,  I  came  while  still 
feeling  my  indebtedness  to  God,  for  I  knew 


1 68    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

if  I  postponed  coming,  I  would  be  diverted 
from  my  purpose." 

Mrs.  Rodman's  words  were  received  with 
silent  thanksgiving.  While  talking  of  the 
Truth  as  understood  in  Christian  Science,  the 
door-bell  rang  and  a  few  moments  later  Frank 
and  his  mother  were  shown  in.  Before  the  eve- 
ning was  over,  Mrs.  Alvern  brought  in  Anne's 
mother  who  had  called  on  her,  to  inquire  the 
truth  of  the  story  she  had  been  told.  There 
was  such  a  powerful  spiritual  presence  felt  by 
those  present,  that  the  questions  asked  with 
their  answers  given  were  realized  by  all,  to 
be  inspirational,  leading  these  seeking  ones  to 
the  Fountain  of  Life. 

"We  have  service  here  every  Sunday 
morning,  and  Wednesday  evening  a  meeting 
is  held  at  Mrs.  Alvern's,"  said  Mrs.  Dorand. 

"  I  shall  most  certainly  attend,"  answered 
Mrs.  Rodman,  "  and  I  will  bless  the  accident 
that  led  me  to  the  peace  for  which  I  have 
longed  these  many  years." 

"  I,  too,  have  been  delaying  in  asking  about 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     169 

the  Truth  that  seemed  to  give  you  all  such 
faith,  but  now  I  see  that  my  delay  might  have 
cost  me  my  boy's  life,"  said  Mrs.  Hascom, 
repentantly. 

Anne's  mother  laid  a  bill  on  the  table,  while 
asking  Dr.  Dorand  to  order  a  book  for  her. 
She  decided  to  take  up  its  study  seriously. 
The  other  ladies  also  expressing  a  desire  to 
own  a  copy  of  Science  and  Health,  the  doctor 
promised  to  write  for  them,  that  very  night. 

After  the  visitors  had  gone,  Dr.  Dorand 
was  writing  to  Mr.  Hilman  for  the  books, 
while  his  wife  sat  waiting  for  him  to  finish. 

"  Steve,"  said  she  as  he  sealed  the  letter,  "  I 
feel  as  if  '  Love's  Family '  was  growing  large 
enough  to  warrant  a  meeting  place  of  its  own. 
What  do  you  think?  " 

"  I  shouldn't  be  at  all  surprised  if  we  de- 
monstrate a  church,  if  the  enlisting  continues 
in  this  way,"  replied  the  doctor. 

"  And  if  we  do,  it  will  be  the  fruit  of  a  tiny 
seed  sown  by  two  of  Divine  Love's  little  ones," 
said  Mrs.  Dorand  gratefully.  "  Steve,  I  often 


170    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

think  of  the  wonders  God  has  worked  in  our 
midst,  through  the  channel  of  Betty  and  Rod, 
whose  desire  to  '  do  something '  was  strong 
enough  to  open  their  spiritual  consciousness 
to  God's  beautiful  leading." 


CHAPTER  XII 


\\7  HEN  school  opened  in  September,  Joe 
was  delighted  by  being  allowed  to  at- 
tend. Having  studied  hard  all  summer,  with 
help  from  Dr.  Anson  and  the  Dorand  boys, 
his  face  beamed  with  satisfaction  upon  hear- 
ing the  result  of  his  examinations,  which  per- 
mitted him  to  enter  the  same  class  with 
Betty. 

Their  teacher  was  an  unamiable  woman 
who  considered  teaching  children  a  bore,  par- 
ticularly so,  since  she  had  been  assistant  prin- 
cipal in  a  city  school  and  had  accepted  the 
position  open  in  this  school,  simply  because 
the  doctor  advised  her  to  live  in  the  country. 

One  morning  about  two  weeks  after  the 
term  opened,  Miss  Tomkins,  nicknamed 
"  Aunt  Becky  "  by  the  school-children,  was  not 
feeling  well,  The  pupils,  although  coming  to 


172    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

school  with  bright,  happy  faces,  unconsciously 
felt  the  inharmony  of  error  and  before  recess, 
the  room  was  in  an  uproar  of  disobedience. 

Mr.  Hadyn,  the  principal,  who  was  hearing 
a  test-class  in  the  adjoining  room,  found  it 
necessary  to  send  in  a  message,  requesting 
silence. 

This  increased  Aunt  Becky's  vexation, 
and  glancing  indignantly  over  the  class  she 
brought  the  ruler  down  on  the  desk  with  a 
bang. 

"  Not  a  pupil  shall  leave  this  class  for  re- 
cess ! " 

Her  announcement  was  received  with  a 
grumble,  but  soon  after,  when  the  gong  rang, 
Miss  Tomkins,  being  monitor  at  the  coat- 
room,  went  toward  the  door. 

"  I  shall  keep  my  ears  open  for  the  slightest 
sound,"  she  said,  "  and  if  anyone  leaves  their 
seat  I  will  punish  them  severely!" 

The  children,  reflecting  the  teacher's  error 
of  anger,  mutinied  as  soon  as  she  had  left  the 
room. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     173 

"The  horrid  old  thing!"  cried  Ethel  Lane, 
who  had  planned  a  game  of  tag  with  some 
friends. 

"  She'll  be  sorry  she  kept  me  in,  I  can  just 
tell  you ! "  exclaimed  Andy  Dowell,  emphati- 
cally. He  was  the  most  mischievous  boy  of 
the  class. 

"What'cher  goin'  to  do,  Andy?"  asked 
some  boys. 

"You  just  wait  and  see!  But  don't  cher 
tell  on  me,"  warned  Andy,  knowingly. 

Miss  Tomkins  was  a  small  thin  woman  of 
about  fifty.  She  wore  an  entire  head-piece 
of  brown  artificial  curls,  while  the  few  stray 
hairs,  showing  from  underneath,  were  gray. 
Andy  had  noticed  this  and  laid  his  plan  of 
vengeance  accordingly. 

Recess  over,  Miss  Tomkins  came  in,  calling 
the  arithmetic  class  to  the  black-boards,  while 
she  took  her  seat..  It  happened  that  Joe  and 
Andy  worked  at  the  same  board  that  week, 
just  back  of  the  teacher's  desk. 

While  Joe  faithfully  worked  his  examples, 


174    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Andy  bent  a  pin  having  a  string  attached,  and 
caught  it  in  the  curls  of  Miss  Tomkins'  hair, 
passing  the  string  down  to,  and  tying  it  on  a 
rung  of  the  chair.  He  then  quickly  copied 
Joe's  work,  cleverly  making  some  slight  mis- 
takes to  bring  the  result  out  different. 

When  the  pupils  resumed  their  seats,  Miss 
Tomkins,  who  had  been  correcting  exercises, 
glanced  at  the  class  and  detected  some  con- 
vulsed faces. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  she  demanded 
sternly. 

The  attention  of  the  entire  class  centering 
upon  her  as  she  spoke,  they  knew  something 
unusual  had  taken  place,  from  the  amused 
faces  of  a  few. 

"Never  in  my  life  have  I  seen  such  ill- 
behaved  children!  "  announced  Miss  Tomkins 
in  a  disgusted  tone.  "  I  shall  detain  every  one 
of  you  this  afternoon  to  lecture  you  on  de- 
portment. I  never " 

Starting  up  as  she  spoke  to  make  her  re- 
marks more  emphatic,  Miss  Tomkins  dropped 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     175 

back  on  the  chair  with  an  exclamation  of  dis- 
may, as  her  beautiful  curls  were  jerked  off 
her  head  and  hung  over  the  back  of  the  chair. 
While  placing  both  hands  over  her  bare  head, 
the  children  laughed  so  spitefully  at  her  pre- 
dicament, that  the  principal  came  in  to  de- 
mand the  cause. 

Miss  Tomkins  looked  up  to  see  who  had 
entered  the  room,  while  Mr.  Hadyn,  with 
difficulty,  controlled  his  features. 

"  Miss  Tomkins,"  said  he,  "I  seldom  find 
occasion  to  rebuke  a  class  twice  in  the  same 
day,  but  as  this  one  seems  unmanageable,  I 
came  in  to  inquire  the  cause." 

"I  never  saw  such  a  class!"  exclaimed  the 
teacher,  wrathfully.  "  I  am  not  fit  to  be  seen 
as  the  result  of  their  dreadful  tricks."  And 
Miss  Tomkins  laid  her  head  on  the  desk  to 
weep  tears  of  mortification. 

The  pupils  felt  ashamed  when  they  realized 
the  extent  of  her  injured  feelings,  but  Betty, 
going  quietly  up  to  the  desk,  untied  the  curls 
and  replaced  them  carefully  on  Miss  Tomkins' 


176    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

head,  then  putting  her  arms  around  her  in  a 
comforting  way,  she  kissed  her. 

"  Thank  you,  Elizabeth,"  whispered  Miss 
Tomkins,  "  now  run  to  your  seat  again." 

No  one  seemed  to  have  noticed  Betty,  but 
when  she  was  seated  once  more,  the  silence 
was  broken  by  Mr.  Hadyn. 

"  This  misdemeanor  is  unpardonable.  Lesser 
pranks  than  this  have  expelled  the  perpetra- 
tor. I  wish  the  guilty  one  to  arise  in  acknowl- 
edgment of  his  fault." 

No  one  arose.    Absolute  silence  reigned. 

"  Some  one  is  the  culprit,"  continued  the 
principal,  becoming  angry.  "  If  I  have  to 
find  out  by  myself,  I  shall  certainly  not  be 
lenient." 

Striding  over  to  the  desk  he  asked  about  the 
incident,  in  an  undertone. 

Miss  Tomkins,  indicating  the  string  and 
pin,  pointed  to  the  examples  on  the  black- 
board, while  mentioning  the  names  of  Andy 
and  Joe. 

"  Andrew  Dowell,  do  you  know  anything 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     177 

about  this  matter?"  asked  Mr.  Hadyn  se- 
verely. 

"Yes,  sir,"  admitted  Andy,  seemingly  re- 
luctantly. 

"  Did  you  do  it,  sir?" 

"Oh,  no  indeed,  sir!  "  answered  Andy  with 
an  injured  expression. 

"Joseph  Bruce,  stand  up!" 

Joe  arose,  mentally  asking  Love  to  guide 
him. 

"  Did  you  play  this  ungentlemanly  trick?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  quavered  Joe,  while  dreading  the 
next  question,  which  he  feared  would  either 
cause  him  to  tell  a  tale  or  refuse  an  answer 
to  the  principal.  Joe  was  allowing  error  to 
worry  him  instead  of  quietly  trusting  God's 
government.  Consequently  his  face  expressed 
doubt  and  trouble. 

Andy  emitted  an  accusing  "Oh!"  while 
Mr.  Hadyn  looked  closely  at  Joe  a  moment, 
then  said  in  a  cutting  tone: 

"  You  may  come  to  my  office,  Joseph 
Bruce." 


178    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

The  class,  dumbfounded  at  developments, 
looked  to  Andy  to  correct  the  wrong.  Andy, 
however,  considering  it  a  huge  joke,  laughed 
aloud  after  Miss  Tomkins  had  left  the  room 
to  adjust  her  hair. 

"  Best  thing  that  ever  happened!  Old  Ha- 
dyn  and  my  Pop  are  great  friends,  while  that 
little  imp  of  a  news-boy  comes  from  no  one 
knows  where." 

Betty  bestowed  a  look  upon  him  that  plainly 
expressed  her  sentiments. 

Mr.  Hadyn  locked  Joe  in  his  office  while 
he  attended  to  various  class  duties.  When 
school  was  dismissed,  a  carriage  drove  up  and 
someone  called  for  the  principal,  who  hurried 
away,  forgetting  about  the  boy  he  had  locked 
up  in  his  office. 

Joe  became  so  tired  of  waiting  that  he  was 
tempted  to  escape  by  the  roof  of  the  porch. 
He  felt  .wretched  to  think  that  anyone  would 
accuse  him  of  playing  such  a  mean  trick  on  a 
teacher  who  was  kind  enough  to  teach  him 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     179 

lessons.  After  being  obedient  to  Love  while 
trying  hard  to  improve  himself  in  every  way, 
he  felt  something  was  woefully  wrong  with 
his  thought  to  bring  out  such  an  unpleasant 
experience.  Remembering  his  neglected 
duties  at  the  dentist's,  he  wondered  whether 
Dr.  Anson  would  believe  his  story,  or  simply 
discharge  him  without  a  hearing.  Lifting  the 
latch  on  the  inside  shutters,  he  swung  them 
open,  determined  to  get  out  when  a  newspaper 
was  brushed  to  the  floor. 

"  I  guess  I'll  wait,"  he  said  hesitatingly. 
"  It  will  look  like  guilt  if  I  run  away.  I'll  see 
this  matter  out  even  if  I  have  to  stay  all 
night!" 

Picking  up  the  paper  which  was  several 
days  old,  he  settled  down  in  the  arm-chair  to 
read.  As  his  eyes  traveled  down  the  columns 
of  "  Lost  and  Found,"  his  attention  was  ar- 
rested by  the  following  paragraph: 

"  Henry  Bruce  desires  information  of  his 
brother  Joseph,  aged  twelve,  slender,  fair  hair, 


i8o    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

known  as  'Joey'  to  his  friends.  Address, 
Peter  Scott,  Box  317,  The  Eagle,  Downtown 
Office,  New  York  City." 

Joe  bounded  up  as  if  worked  by  a  galvanic 
battery,  just  as  the  door  was  unlocked  and  Mr. 
Hadyn,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Dorand,  entered 
the  room. 

"  Joe,  I  wish  to  ask  your  pardon  for  my 
rash  judgment,"  said  the  principal,  holding 
out  his  hand  to  Joe. 

Joe,  looking  unconscious  of  what  was  being 
said,  never  moved  a  muscle.  The  principal, 
surprised  at  Joe  for  not  accepting  his  apology, 
turned  to  his  companion  with  a  questioning 
look. 

"Joe,"  said  Dr.  Dorand,  coming  forward 
and  laying  his  hand  on  Joe's  shoulder,  "  you 
need  have  no  fear.  Mr.  Hadyn  knows  all.  I 
overheard  the  children  talking  about  it,  and 
after  questioning  them,  I  went  to  tell  Mr. 
Hadyn." 

Joe  gradually  recovered  from  his  surprise 
and  handed  the  newspaper  to  the  doctor. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     181 

"I  knew  it!  I  just  knew  if  I  was  good, 
Love  would  send  me  word  from  Henry  and 
Pete,  or  bring  them  to  this  beautiful  home." 

Dr.  Dorand  read  where  Joe  had  pointed 
and  showing  the  item  to  Mr.  Hadyn,  both 
gentlemen  shook  hands  with  Joe. 

Great  was  the  delight  for  Joe  in  both  house- 
holds when  they  heard  Joe's  good  news. 

"You  won't  think  of  leaving  us,  Joey,  will 
you?"  asked  Jim,  who  had  grown  very  fond 
of  the  upright  little  fellow. 

"Mercy  goodness,  no!"  exclaimed  Joe. 
"Why,  Jim,  I  would  get  so  homesick  for  all 
of  you  if  I  had  to  leave  here,  I  don't  know 
what  I  should  do !  " 

Dr.  Dorand  called  up  Mr.  Hilman  on  the 
telephone  and  carefully  detailing  all  partic- 
ulars, asked  him  to  answer  the  advertisement 
and  send  the  two  boys  out  to  Joe  the  following 
Saturday. 

Henry  and  Pete  came  to  visit  Joe,  who  was 
so  happy  at  having  them  with  him,  that  Pete 
who  had  saved  enough  money  to  treat  himself 


182    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

to  this  vacation,  postponed  returning  to  the 
city  from  day  to  day.  Henry  was  awaiting  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Hilman  who  had  promised 
to  look  up  an  office  position  for  him. 

About  a  week  after  the  arrival  of  Joe's 
friends,  an  automobile  stopped  in  front  of 
Dorand's  house.  Mr.  Hilman  and  his  wife 
alighted.  Before  they  reached  the  door,  Betty 
ran  out,  greeting  them  with  kisses  and  snatches 
of  news. 

"Joe  knew  Love  would  find  them — he  was 
so  patient  in  school  that  day — I  tried  to  see 
Love  in  Andy  but  I  just  couldn't! — but  when 
he  came  an'  told  Joe  he  was  sorry  an'  gave  Joe 
a  whole  trunkful  of  his  nice  clothes,  when  he 
was  sent  away  to  school,  then  I  saw  Good  in 
him.  Oh!  Oh!  You  can't  begin  to  guess  all 
our  lovely  demonstrations ' 

At  this  point  of  Betty's  recital,  Mrs.  Dorand 
came  out  to  shake  hands  with  the  visitors. 

"  I  fear  there  is  not  a  speck  of  good  news 
left  for  me  to  give,"  said  Betty's  mother 
laughing. 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     183 

"We  have  heard  such  fine  reports  of  the 
Society,  that  we  could  not  resist  the  desire  to 
come  and  see  for  ourselves,"  said  Mrs.  Hil- 
man. 

"Yes,"  added  her  husband,  "and  to  be 
allowed  to  join  the  honorary  membership." 

"Why!  how  could  you  have  heard  of  all 
our  doings?"  asked  Betty,  looking  at  each 
with  a  puzzled  expression. 

"  Have  you  forgotten  that  Rod's  mother 
comes  to  the  city  for  instruction?"  queried 
Mr.  Hilman. 

"Why,  of  course!"  replied  Betty,  "and  if 
she  told  you,  you'd  hear  all,  too." 

The  elders,  including  Dr.  Dorand  who  had 
joined  the  group,  laughed  heartily  at  Betty's 
remark. 

Mr.  Hilman  asked  the  doctor  to  take  a  run 
in  the  machine  with  him  as  he  wished  to  talk 
with  him,  so  Mrs.  Hilman  went  in  the 
house  with  Betty  and  her  mother,  to  enjoy  a 
visit. 

"  Steve,  how  are  affairs  turning  out  for  Joe 


1 84    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

and  his  friend^?  "  asked  Mr.  Hilman,  as  they 
sped  along. 

"  I  surmise!  your  visit  meant  something  im- 

m 

portant  and  would  begin  with  an  interrogation 
point,"  answered  Dr.  Dorand,  laughing. 

"Well,  then,  what  do  you  think  of  Joe's 
brother?"  confessed  Mr.  Hilman,  smil- 
ing. 

"  I  am  impressed  with  Henry's  apparent 
honesty.  Having  studied  him  well,  I  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  punished 
unjustly;  but  as  it  has  all  turned  out,  it  prob- 
ably was  the  best  thing  that  could  have  hap- 
pened, to  bring  out  these  present  results." 

"As  you  know,"  said  Mr.  Hilman,  "  I  have 
been  on  the  lookout  for  an  office  position  for 
him  among  my  friends.  Yesterday  the  boy 
who  has  been  with  me  for  a  long  time,  showed 
me  a  letter  in  which  his  uncle  asks  him  to 
come  to  Philadelphia,  to  work  in  his  grocery 
store.  A  ticket  was  enclosed,  while  the  wages 
offered  were  an  inducement.  Smiling  at  the 
boy's  eagerness  to  go,  I  saw  the  demonstration 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     185 

awaiting  Henry,  and  determined  to  assist  him 
in  making  something  of  himself,  if  you  con- 
sidered him  deserving." 

"  Archer,  I  think  he  will  do  anything  for 
you,  if  he  but  has  an  opportunity.  He  is  full 
of  gratitude  and  an  open  avenue  for  Love  to 
work  through.  He  attended  night-school  for 
several  years,  so  he  is  not  an  ignorant  boy  by 
any  means,  and  he  is  quite  anxious  to  resume 
studies." 

Returning,  the  friends  had  a  talk  with 
Henry,  and  it  was  decided  that  he  was  to 
present  himself  at  Mr.  Hilman's  office  Mon- 
day morning. 

During  the  week  he  was  to  sleep  on  a  cot 
placed  in  the  back  office,  while  every  Sunday 
could  be  spent  with  Joe  in  the  country. 

In  the  meantime  Joe  had  taken  Dr.  Anson 
into  his  confidence,  concerning  Pete;  conse- 
quently a  note  came  one  morning  asking  Pete 
to  call  at  Budd's  department  store,  regarding 
a  position. 

Pete  nervously  furbished  his  apparel  while 


1 86    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Mollie  patted  him  on  the  back  as  he  was  about 
to  start. 

"  Pete,  just  know  you  are  being  led.  You 
don't  have  to  worry  about  what  to  do  or  say. 
Love  is  doing  the  planning  so  all  you  have  to 
do  is  to  follow." 

Pete,  smiling,  felt  easier  as  he  hurried  off. 
The  result  was,  he  was  engaged  in  the  carpet 
department  to  assist  the  clerks  in  rolling  and 
showing  different  patterns  of  carpet.  Pete, 
exultant  to  think  that  he  could  live  in  the 
country  instead  of  New  York,  resolved  to  be- 
gin at  once  to  learn  of  this  Father-Mother- 
Love  who  gave  all  good  things  to  His  chil- 
dren. 

One  Saturday,  shortly  after  these  demon- 
strations, the  children  of  the  neighborhood 
planned  a  nutting  party. 

Marion,  Bert  and  Ned  joined  the  party, 
excusing  their  presence  by  saying,  it  wouldn't 
be  wise  to  allow  the  little  ones  to  go  alone, 
and  besides  the  big  boys  could  throw  clubs 
into  the  branches  of  the  trees,  with  more  force. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    187 

No  reply  was  vouchsafed  to  the  given  ex- 
cuse, but  each  "  little  one "  knew  that  Bert 
and  Ned  were  as  eager  for  the  fun  as  if  they 
themselves  were  "  little  ones." 

It  was  a  perfect  Fall  day.  The  night  before 
having  been  frosty,  the  fallen  leaves  were 
crisp  with  hoary  dew,  while  the  air  had  the 
briskness  that  makes  one  keenly  awake  to 
Good. 

As  the  party  went  deeper  into  the  woods, 
such  exclamations  as  "  I've  got  one  "  "  Here's 
a  beauty,"  or,  "Oh!  quick!  come  here  and  see 
all  these,"  became  less  frequent  as  the  novelty 
wore  off.  The  seekers  were  kept  so  busy  gath- 
ering that  very  little  conversation  was  heard. 

"  If  you  think  you'd  care  to  walk  a  mile  or 
so,  I  know  of  a  dandy  bunk  where  the  trees 
bear  the  largest  nuts  of  any  about  here,"  said 
Bert. 

A  chorus  of  voices  assured  him  that  they 
could  walk  ten  miles  if  necessary,  so,  slinging 
bags  over  their  shoulders,  off  they  went,  alter- 
nately singing  or  whistling,  as  they  trudged 


i88    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

merrily  through  the  forest  to  the  "bunk,"  in 
which  they  were  not  disappointed. 

"  Ned,  you  climb  that  tree  and  shake  the 
branch  while  I  climb  this  one,"  suggested 
Bert. 

"  I'll '  ram'  the  trunk  of  that  one,  shall  I?  " 
asked  Walter  pointing  to  a  thick  tree. 

"All  right,  but  don't  break  the  bark,"  re- 
turned Bert,  while  taking  off  his  coat. 

The  shower  of  brown  nuts  which  came 
pelting  down  from  the  opened  burrs,  succeed- 
ing the  effort  of  the  boys,  caused  the  children 
to  duck  their  heads  while  scampering  hither 
and  thither  for  the  glossy  treasures. 

"  Say,  ain't  nobody  hungry?  "  asked  Tommy 
Hunter,  as  Bert  and  Ned  rested  for  a  time. 

A  loud  laugh  answered  his  question,  as 
Tommy  was  a  plump  little  boy  who  was  al- 
ways seen  to  be  eating. 

"I  shouldn't  think  you'd  be  hungry,"  re- 
plied Walter.  "  You  have  already  eaten  your 
share,  by  your  looks." 

Tommy  good-naturedly  joined  in  the  laugh 
at  his  expense. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     189 

"  I  really  think  Tommy's  suggestion  very 
timely,"  said  Marion. 

"  I'm  awfully  hungry  too,"  seconded  Betty. 
"I've  been  eating  chestnuts  to  keep  from  ask- 
ing for  lunch." 

"  Goodness !  We'd  better  begin  at  once, 
then,  or  we'll  have  nothing  to  show  at  home 
for  our  day's  work,"  advised  Bert. 

A  short  walk  brought  them  to  a  log  hut  that 
had  been  built  some  years  before  by  the  older 
boys  and  handed  down  to  the  younger  set. 
Just  outside  the  hut  stood  "  The  Table  Rock," 
under  which  a  spring  gurgled  forth  into  a  tiny 
rivulet  of  clear  water. 

Here  the  hungry  party  dropped  their  bags 
and  began  the  lunch. 

When  this  important  matter  had  been  at- 
tended to,  some  of  the  little  ones  feeling  tired, 
preferred  to  sit  and  listen  to  Bert  tell  stories. 
He  was  their  favorite  romancer,  and  as  he 
lay  on  the  grass,  his  head  propped  upon  his 
hands,  with  the  children  grouped  attentively 
about  him,  he  was  in  his  glory. 

Ned  and  Marion  wanted  to  gather  some 


190    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

clematis  for  their  mothers,  so  Betty  and  Rod 
went  with  them,  rather  than  sit  still  and  listen 
to  Bert. 

They  had  been  gone  a  long  time,  when  Bert 
having  spun  his  yarns,  got  up  and  shook  the 
dry  grass  and  leaves  from  his  clothing. 

"  Get  your  traps  together,  kids,"  said  he. 
"  If  the  others  are  not  here  by  that  time,  we'll 
hallo-loo  for  them." 

The  children  complied,  sighing  regretfully 
when  Bert  prepared  for  home.  Looking  at 
the  disapproval  expressed  on  their  counte- 
nances, he  laughed. 

"  Do  you  want  to  stay  all  night?  See 
that  sun?  It'll  be  six  o'clock  before  we  get 
home,  because  we've  got  a  long  way  to 
walk." 

Before  they  were  ready  to  start  for  home, 
the  other  members  of  the  party  came  up,  Betty 
picking  her  way  carefully  over  the  stones, 
while  holding  something  in  her  skirt. 

"  Well,  we've  had  an  experience  worth  tell- 
ing," said  Ned. 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     191 

Bert  looked  inquiringly  at  him  while  the 
others  said: 

"Oh!  do  tell  us  about  it.  What  has  Betty 
got  there?" 

"  Well,  we  hunted  all  over  for  the  clematis 
vines  but  I  guess  it's  too  late  for  it,"  said  Ned. 
"  We  went  further  than  we  had  meant,  until 
Rod  got  some  nettles  inside  his  stocking,  which 
pricked  him  every  time  he  stepped,  so  we 
waited  while  he  sat  down  on  a  log  to  take  his 
shoe  off.  While  we  stood  there  Betty  noticed 
something  stir,  deep  down  under  a  heap  of 
brush,  near  the  log.  Lifting  aside  the  twigs, 
she  found  a  family  of  woolly,  grey  bunnies, 
curled  up  in  a  soft  nest  of  leaves.  We  were 
going  to  replace  the  covering,  so  as  not  to 
startle  them,  when  I  saw  just  outside  of  the 
tiny  home,  the  bunnie  mother  lying.  She  had 
been  shot  by  some  one  who  considered  it  great 
sport." 

"Oh — Oh — !"  interrupted  the  children 
sympathetically.  "What  did  you  do?" 

"  I  found  the  bunnie  mother  was  still  breath- 


192    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

ing,  although  faintly,  so,  picking  her  up 
gently,  I  sat  down  to  realize  Divine  Love  was 
All-Life,  and  every  manifestation  of  His  life 
drew  its  being  from  Him.  We  took  the  babies 
from  the  nest  where  they  were  shivering  with 
cold,  and  wrapping  them  in  Rod's  muffler, 
tucked  them  up  in  Betty's  skirt. 

Before  Ned  could  continue  his  narrative, 
the  children  demanded  a  peep  at  the  cute,  tiny 
things  that  cuddled  so  confidingly  in  Betty's 
lap. 

"Then  what?"  asked  Bert. 

"Why,  finding  little  mother  bunnie  breath- 
ing better  we  tucked  her  in  with  her  babies  to 
take  them  home  until  they  are  all  right." 

A  hutch  was  built  for  the  bunnies,  who  grew 
and  became  so  tame  that  all  idea  of  returning 
them  to  the  woods  was  out  of  the  question.  So 
they  joined  the  society  of  homeless  animals. 

The  mother  bunnie  with  her  five  children 
would  jump  and  scamper  about  the  children 
and  play  hide  and  seek  among  the  winter  cab- 
bages still  remaining  in  the  garden.  The  most 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     193 

amusing  sight  was  to  see  great  big  Laddie, 
followed  by  Miss  Kitty,  racing  about  the  lawn 
in  pursuit  of  the  bunnies,  who  would  suddenly 
double  on  their  tracks,  causing  Laddie  to  roll 
all  over  in  the  fun. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

MARY'S  DEMONSTRATION 

Society  collected  their  monthly  con- 
tributions until  quite  a  sum  had  been 
saved.  Most  of  the  "  active  members  "  were 
becoming  self-supporting,  so  the  disburse- 
ments were  very  light. 

Mollie  found  Helen  such  a  help  in  house- 
keeping, that  she  refused  to  accept  money  for 
her  board,  while  Mary  played  with  a  two-year 
old  child  in  the  neighborhood  so  often,  that 
the  little  one,  growing  fond  of  her,  led  the 
mother  to  offer  Mary  a  dollar  a  week,  to  come 
regularly  for  a  short  time  each  day  to  amuse 
the  baby.  Hence,  even  Mary  in  her  effort, 
was  able  to  demonstrate  Love's  supply. 

"  Children,"  said  Mollie  one  day  as  they 
came  in  from  school,  "  Mrs.  Whiting  brought 
her  weekly  gift  this  morning  and  left  an  in- 
vitation for  you  to  go  on  a  straw-ride  to  Mount 

195 


196    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Freedom,  where  Mr.  Whiting  wishes  to  look 
at  some  cattle." 

Of  course  the  children  were  delighted,  so 
when  the  great  farm  wagon  drove  up  Satur- 
day, the  Whiting  children  were  greeted  with 
a  whoop  of  pleasure.  Shouting  good-byes, 
and  waving  handkerchiefs,  they  drove  away, 
while  the  elders  stood  on  the  piazza,  smil- 
ing. 

Mrs.  Whiting  had  put  apples  and  dough- 
nuts in  the  wagon  and  the  children  began  to 
enjoy  them  at  once. 

After  a  long  drive  the  road  ran  through 
some  thick  woods,  where  in  the  glade  by  a 
stream  were  a  number  of  tents. 

"See  those  tents?"  asked  Mr.  Whiting, 
pointing  his  whip  toward  the  glade,  "  the  peo- 
ple who  live  there  are  called  gypsies.  They 
camp  about  these  parts  every  year." 

The  children  asked  many  questions  about 
the  wanderers,  while  thinking  it  must  be 
great  fun  to  keep  house  on  wheels. 

Soon  after  this  Mr.  Whiting,  reaching  the 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     197 

place  he  had  in  view,  the  children  were  told 
they  could  amuse  themselves  for  an  hour  or 
so.  The  farmer's  wife  coming  out  to  greet 
them,  brought  some  raspberry  vinegar  and 
cookies,  while  her  children  offered  to  take  the 
visitors  about. 

The  first  attraction  visited  was  a  small  duck 
pond  where  a  rustic  bridge  led  over  to  a  minia- 
ture island.  A  number  of  ducks  and  geese 
paddling  about,  enchanted  Mary  so  that 
Marion  had  to  drag  her  away.  Then  as  they 
went  through  the  orchard  toward  the  stock 
yards,  a  row  of  bee  hives  proved  very  inter- 
esting to  Helen  and  Betty,  so  they  got  all  the 
information  on  the  subject  that  their  little 
hosts  could  give. 

"  If  we  should  keep  bees,"  whispered  Betty 
to  Helen,  "  we  could  make  money  for  the  So- 
ciety without  its  costing  anything;  for  they 
eat  their  food  from  flowers  and  sleep  in  their 
wax  cells  at  night." 

"That's  so!"  answered  Helen.  "Let's  ask 
Jim  about  it.  He'll  know." 


198    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Returning  past  the  side  porch,  Mary  said 
she  was  tired  and  wanted  to  sit  on  the  steps  to 
wait  until  the  others  came  back.  Being  ad- 
vised repeatedly  by  Marion  and  Helen,  not  to 
go  away  from  the  steps,  she  nodded  affirma- 
tively, while  the  others  ran  off. 

Mary  sat  thinking  how  nice  it  would  be  to 
go  over  to  the  pond  and  play  with  the  ducks ; 
she  said  to  herself,  that  when  told  not  to  leave 
the  steps,  she  only  nodded,  she  didn't  say  she 
wouldn't.  Wondering  whether  she  could  run 
over  and  get  back  again  before  she  was  missed, 
she  decided  to  try.  Crawling  under  the  fence 
she  scampered  on  through  the  grass  until  she 
came  in  sight  of  the  pond. 

Forgetting  all  the  Good  she  had  been 
taught,  she  allowed  the  "disobedience  error" 
to  lead  her. 

Going  down  to  the  water,  Mary  called  to 
the  ducks  and  threw  bits  of  cake  to  them  as 
they  swam  silently  around  at  the  edge  of  the 
water.  Being  so  intent  upon  closely  follow- 
ing and  watching  them,  Mary  had  not  noticed 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST     199 

a  woman  sitting  under  a  tree,  until  she  heard 
someone  speak. 

"Nice  little  girl,  where  do  you  live?" 

Mary,  starting  with  surprise,  looked  up  to 
see  a  woman  sitting  under  a  tree  near  the 
water. 

"  I  won't  hurt  you,  pretty  dear,"  continued 
the  woman.  "  Tell  me  your  name?  " 

Mary  gazed  at  her  quietly.  She  over- 
looked the  hard,  cruel  face  and  soiled  gar- 
ments, in  the  mesmeric  influence  of  listening 
to  error's  flattery.  To  be  called  "  sweet "  and 
"pretty"  was  so  nice  I 

"  Won't  you  come  over  to  see  me?"  asked 
the  insinuating  voice  of  error,  "you  are  such  a 
lovely  child  and  so  pretty  that  I  am  sure  you 
are  as  good  as  you  are  beautiful." 

As  the  woman  reached  out  a  hand  to  reas- 
sure Mary,  her  shawl  slipped  down,  revealing 
a  tiny  fist,  and  causing  a  little,  piping  voice  to 
issue  from  under  the  shawl's  fold. 

"Oh,  a  baby!"  cried  Mary,  in  a  pleased 
tone. 


200    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Seeing  the  interest  expressed  by  Mary,  the 
woman  asked  her  if  she  would  like  to  see  the 
baby. 

"  May  I  hold  her?  "  asked  Mary  softly.  "  I 
know  how.  I  take  care  of  a  baby  that  lives 
near  my  house  and  everyone  says  I'm  an  awful 
good  nurse!" 

"  You  kin  hold  her  whiles  I  git  some  milk 
warmed,"  replied  the  woman,  looking  keenly 
at  Mary  in  a  speculative  way. 

"Oh,  goody!"  exclaimed  she,  sitting  down 
on  the  grass. 

"  Not  here,"  the  woman  said,  rising  and  go- 
ing toward  a  wagon.  "  I  want  her  out  of  the 


sun." 


Opening  a  small  door  at  the  back  of  the 
queer  little  house  on  wheels,  she  stepped  up. 

Mary  had  never  heard  of  or  seen  gypsies 
until  the  tents  were  pointed  out,  so  she  was  not 
aware  this  was  a  gypsy  on  the  way  to  join  a 
tribe  several  miles  on.  Strange  to  say  the 
camp  in  the  glade  were  strangers  to  this 
branch  of  the  Romany  wanderers. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    201 

As  the  woman  went  in  the  wagon  she  whis- 
pered to  a  man  lying  on  some  blankets  who 
arose  and  climbed  out. 

Mary  looked  at  the  tiny  square  window  let 
in  the  side  of  the  wagon  and  curtained  with 
bright  chintz;  at  the  tin  smoke-pipe  coming 
from  the  roof,  and  then  curiosity  overcoming 
her,  she  went  in  to  hold  the  baby. 

The  house-wagon  was  fitted  with  a  shelf 
fastened  on  one  side;  two  camp-stools;  a  bas- 
ket to  hold  the  baby  and  some  blankets  piled  in 
a  corner. 

Mary  was  most  interested  though,  in  the 
tiny  stove  perched  upon  a  box,  which  she 
thought  was  a  toy  until  the  woman  lit  some 
wood  in  it  and  placed  a  pan  over  the  fire  to 
warm  the  milk. 

Being  so  interested  watching  the  woman 
light  the  fire,  Mary  had  not  noticed  a  man 
fasten  the  door  on  the  outside. 

"  It's  just  like  playing  house,  isn't  it?  " 
asked  Mary,  delightedly. 

"Oh,  yes,  I  have  lots  of  fun.     I  thought 


202    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

maybe  you'd  like  to  ride  a  ways  with  us,  would 
you?"  she  asked. 

"No,  no!  "  answered  Mary  in  dismay. 
"  I've  got  to  be  back  at  the  house  or  they'll  go 
home  without  me." 

Having  been  so  interested  in  the  baby  and 
its  surroundings,  Mary  had  not  heard  the 
creaking  and  jolting  of  the  wagon,  until 
now. 

"  Oh,  won't  you  please  take  your  baby,  so  I 
can  get  out?  "  she  asked,  in  a  troubled  tone  of 
voice. 

"  I'll  tell  you  a  better  plan,"  suggested  the 
woman.  "We'll  hurry  the  horses  and  drive 
you  right  over  to  your  house.  That  will  save 
time  for  you  as  we  are  going  there  any- 
way." 

Thus  being  reassured,  Mary  began  to  play 
with  the  baby  who  was  wide  awake  now.  The 
woman  had  opened  a  small  slide  in  the  front 
of  the  wagon  and  spoken  to  the  man  driving, 
in  so  low  a  tone  that  Mary  could  not  hear  what 
she  said. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    203 

The  wagon  curtains  being  closed,  nothing  . 
could  be  seen  from  inside,  and  all  Mary  knew, 
was,  that  the  man  was  urging  the  horses  on. 

"Are  we  almost  there?"  asked  Mary,  after 
what  seemed  to  her  a  very  long  ride. 

"Almost,"  instantly  answered  the  woman. 
Mary  wondered  how  she  knew  as  she  never 
moved  from  her  stool,  nor  inquired. 

After  another  long  interval  of  silence 
broken  only  by  the  man's  voice  talking  to  the 
horses,  Mary  grew  courageous. 

"  I  guess  I'll  get  out  an'  walk  the  rest  of  the 
way,"  murmured  she  tearfully.  "Then  I  can 
call  to  Uncle  Whiting  if  he  goes  by." 

"I  just  guess  you  won't!"  said  the  woman 
severely,  her  manner  changing  instantan- 
eously. "  You'll  stay  right  where  you  are  and 
watch  the  baby." 

Mary  began  to  cry  in  fear  and  trembling. 

"  Don't  whimper  like  that!  My  man  can't 
stand  a  squally  child,"  said  the  woman. 

Mary  hushed  immediately,  but  if  the 
woman  had  been  watching  closely  she  would 


204    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

have  been  surprised  at  the  sudden  changing 
of  the  child's  countenance,  although  she  would 
not  have  understood. 

Mary  realized  that  error  had  led  her  into 
this  inharmony,  so,  to  bring  out  Good,  she 
must  think  and  know  LOVE. 

They  traveled  on  without  halting  until 
Mary  fell  asleep  from  sheer  exhaustion,  then 
the  woman  signaled  the  man. 

During  the  night  they  joined  a  large  tribe 
of  gypsies  on  their  way  to  the  South  for  the 
winter.  The  wagon  Mary  was  in,  had  broken 
down  at  the  place  she  first  saw  it,  that  was  how 
the  woman  came  to  be  sitting  under  the  tree 
with  the  baby,  while  the  man  repaired  the 
wagon. 

Not  a  word  was  asked  of  Phiny,  the  woman, 
about  the  little  girl  she  had  with  her,  nor  did 
anyone  act  differently  to  Mary  than  to  the 
other  children  of  the  tribe. 

Mary  knew  the  names  of  her  errors  were 
DisobediencCj  Love  of  Flattery  and  Curiosity. 
She  made  the  best  of  the  existing  conditions, 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    205 

knowing  that  it  was  but  temporary;  that  Di- 
vine Love  would  surely  take  her  home  again 
to  her  dear  ones.  Meanwhile  she  prayed,  to 
do,  with  Love's  guidance,  what  came  to  her 
each  day,  and  mayhap  to  show  some  of  her 
associates  the  Good  way  to  live. 

A  few  days  after  the  kidnapping  the  tribe 
halted  near  a  large  town.  Some  of  the 
younger  members  asked  permission  for  Mary 
to  go  with  them  to  the  shops ;  as  they  had  trav- 
eled many  miles  and  Mary  had  acted  very  do- 
cile, Phiny  consented  to  give  the  child  some 
liberty. 

The  young  people  went  through  the  stores 
to  buy  some  gaudy  trifles  and  spent  the  day 
about  town.  A  young  boy  about  Walter's  age 
was  especially  kind  to  Mary  and  gave  her 
some  candy.  While  tramping  back  to  camp, 
the  boy  Ola  and  Mary  exchanged  confidences, 
she  telling  him  of  her  friends  who  taught  her 
the  Love  truth. 

"  Divine  Love  will  care  for  me  an'  at  just 
the  right  time  someone  will  take  me  home 


206    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

again,"  said  Mary,  in  so  sweet  and  trusting  a 
voice  that  Ola  determined  to  find  out  who 
Divine  Love  was. 

Mary  was  so  tired  with  the  day's  walking 
that  she  slept  as  soon  as  she  lay  down  on  her 
blanket. 

Scarcely  a  day  passed  thereafter  that  she 
and  Ola  did  not  talk  about  Love;  then  one 
day,  Ola  began  telling  Mary  what  he  knew 
of  himself. 

"  I'm  not  a  gypsy,  you  know.  I  was  picked 
up  while  I  was  such  a  little  fellow  that  I 
couldn't  talk  straight.  A  small  tribe  had  me 
until  one  day  they  were  arrested  for  breakin' 
the  law,  an'  so  they  hurried  me  off  with  a  man, 
an'  in  a  few  days  we  came  to  this  band  an' 
I've  been  with  them  ever  since.  Some  day 
I'll  try  to  find  my  friends  but  if  I  leave  here 
an'  don't  succeed  in  finding  my  friends,  I'd  be 
worse  off  than  before." 

"  Oh,"  cried  Mary,  "  but  think  of  your 
family  all  these  years.  They  have  wanted 
you,  so  you  ought  to  look  for  them  for  their 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    207 

sakes.  Maybe  you've  got  dear  sisters  aa' 
brothers." 

"  I  think  I  have,"  mused  Ola.  "  I  remember 
playing  with  children  who  used  to  call  my 
name,  but  just  as  I  think  I've  remembered  it, 
it  slips  away  again." 

"  Ola,  Divine  Love  knows  what  you  were 
called!"  said  Mary  earnestly.  "In  fact, 
Love  has  your  family  waitin'  now,  to  welcome 
you,  if  you'll  let  Him  lead  you  to  'em." 

Mary's  strong  trust  imparted  itseff  to  Ola, 
who  began  to  hope  also.  Her  knowledge  of 
God  had  grown  wonderfully  since  she  was 
thrown  upon  her  own  mental  work  to  keep  her 
safe  in  the  arms  of  Love. 

•  •  •  •  • 

When  Mr.  Whiting  had  finished  his  busi- 
ness satisfactorily  with  the  stock-farmer,  they 
walked  back  to  the  barn  where  the  wagon  had 
been  left.  While  untying  the  horses,  one  of 
his  boys  ran  up. 

"  We  can't  find  Mary,"  he  said  anxiously. 
"We've  called  and  searched  everywhere." 


208    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"The  little  mite  is  hiding  and  laughing  at 
your  trouble,"  answered  Mr.  Whiting,  with  a 
reassuring  smile. 

But  when  he  and  the  men  employed  on  the 
place  had  diligently  hunted  about  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  with  no  result,  expressions  of 
fear  became  visible  on  all  faces.  Helen  was 
crying,  while  Betty,  with  the  other  children, 
felt  wretched  about  the  uncertainty  of  the 
missing  child. 

"  It's  getting  so  late,  don't  you  think  we'd 
better  let  one  of  my  men  drive  these  children 
home  in  your  wagon,"  advised  Mr.  Ramsey. 

"  I  think  that's  a  good  idea,  then  we  can  do 
some  systematic  work,  while  your  man  brings 
back  Dr.  Dorand  and  the  boys." 

The  children  got  in  the  wagon  with  hearts 
too  full  of  mortal  fear  to  remember  that 
"  Love  watches  over  all."  Arriving  at  Do- 
rand's  house  a  forlorn  little  group  got  out  and 
said  good-bye  to  the  Whiting  children. 

"  Now,  Whiting,  I'll  tell  you  what  I  think," 
said  Mr.  Ramsey,  as  soon  as  the  wagon  had 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    209 

gone.  "  I  want  to  make  sure  of  that  duck- 
pond  before  it  grows  dark." 

"You're  goin'  to  waste  time  if  you  dig 
around  there,"  said  Mr.  Whiting;  "she 
couldn't  be  there  because  she's  protected." 

While  Ramsey  and  his  men  went  toward  the 
pond,  Mr.  Whiting  examined  the  ground. 

"Did  you  notice  these  foot-prints?"  he 
asked. 

"Yes,  and  I  found  they  go  direct  to  the 
pond,"  replied  Mr.  Ramsey. 

"  But  did  you  follow  them  up  to  where 
these  large  ones  are?" 

"No,  I  didn't,"  answered  Ramsey,  getting 
down  on  his  knees  to  inspect  the  soft  soil. 

"These  larger  foot-prints  may  have  been 
made  by  my  men  when  they  went  by  here," 
Mr.  Ramsey  suggested. 

"  I  know  she  is  perfectly  safe  somewhere, 
and  I  do  not  want  to  waste  the  time  over  this 
pond,"  declared  Mr.  Whiting  again. 

"Well,  we  will  soon  see!  "  was  the  answer. 

The  duck-pond  was  a  streamlet  scooped  out 


210    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

into  a  wide  basin  and  dammed  up  at  one  end 
to  form  a  tiny  waterfall,  which  tinkled  over 
the  rocks,  down  through  the  ferny  glade  be- 
yond. 

Using  crow-bars  the  men  pried  out  some  of 
the  logs  that  upheld  the  dam,  thus  allowing 
the  water  to  rush  out  through  the  aperture 
until  it  soon  receded  from  the  basin.  Not  a 
sign  of  anything  but  weeds  and  stones  re- 
warded the  work. 

"What  makes  you  so  sure  she  is  safe?" 
asked  Ramsey  of  Whiting,  as  they  continued 
the  search  elsewhere. 

"  Because  she,  and  all  the  folks,  includin' 
my  own  fam'ly,  know  that  God  protects  and 
keeps  His  own  from  harm." 

Ramsey  looked  at  his  companion  curiously. 

"  That  sounds  pretty  good,"  he  replied, 
"  but  I  haven't  time  to  think  of  church  since 
my  family  grew.  I  used  to  be  a  good  Sunday- 
school  boy,  but  I  haven't  even  thought  of  God 
for  years,  'specially  when  it  takes  so  much  time 
every  Sunday  to  get  ready  and  drive  to  town. 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    211 

But  I  ain't  so  bad  for  all  that.  I  give  a 
square  deal  to  all,  and  am  so  honest  that  some- 
times I  think  I'm  a  fool  to  do  it." 

"You  can't  be  too  good,"  answered  Whit- 
ing, emphatically.  "And  if  you  understood 
God  as  Divine  Love,  you  would  soon  find  it 
wasn't  necessary  to  dress  and  go  to  church  on 
Sundays  to  find  Him  but  you'd  be  usin'  Him 
all  the  time.  It's  the  best  thing  ever  happened 
to  me,  the  day  I  found  out  who  God  was. 
That's  why  I  say  the  little  girl  is  all  right! " 

Coming  back  to  the  house  they  found  that 
Dr.  Dorand,  with  his  boys  and  Laddie,  had 
arrived. 

"No  news  yet,"  said  Whiting,  answering 
their  questioning  look. 

"  I  brought  Laddie,  as  he  is  so  fond  of 
Mary,  he  may  give  us  a  clew,"  said  the  doc- 
tor. 

Showing  Laddie  Mary]s  bonnet  which  she 
had  left  on  the  steps,  he  started  off,  with  the 
men  following  closely.  Going  straight  to- 
ward the  duck-pond  he  sniffed  about  the  spot 


212    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

where  Mary's  foot-prints  were  noticed,  then 
giving  short,  sharp  yelps  of  excitement,  raced 
about  until  he  stood  for  a  time,  with  nose  high 
in  the  air,  seeking  the  scent.  Circling  about, 
he  ran  across  the  hard  ground  where  the 
tracks  had  been  lost,  to  a  patch  of  green  grass 
under  the  trees.  The  grass  was  found  to  be 
trampled,  while  wagon  tracks  led  out  to  a  side 
road.  Some  gruel  and  wood  cinders  were 
scattered  around  while  fragments  of  hay  and 
oats  were  near  a  tree,  where  a  horse  had  been 
tethered.  Giving  short,  whining  cries,  Lad- 
die ran  about  this  spot  some  time,  then 
crouched  down  in  the  grass  and  howled. 

The  men  looked  at  each  other  in  amaze- 
ment until  Jim  spoke. 

"  I  saw  a  gypsy  camp  as  we  came  up.  Do 
you  think  it  was  them?" 

"  Might  go  and  make  sure,"  answered  Bert. 

"  I  don't  think  they  would  take  her,"  said 
Mr.  Whiting,  "but  she  may  have  met  some 
of  the  gypsy  youngsters  who  enticed  her  to  go 
with  'em." 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    213 

"  Well,  how  could  you  account  for  the  signs 
we  see  here?"  asked  Dr.  Dorand,  speaking 
for  the  first  time. 

"  If  the  gypsies  from  down  yonder  were 
here,  they  wouldn't  have  a  wagon,"  said  Mr. 
Ramsey,  "  because  they've  been  hangin'  'round 
my  place  several  days,  helpin'  themselves  to 
fruit  and  fodder,  but  they're  too  near  to  bring 
a  wagon  for  anything,  and  it  would  be  too 
hard  to  hide,  if  I  should  run  across  'em." 

"  Won't  do  any  harm  to  run  down  and  ques- 
tion 'em,  anyway,"  said  Jim,  moving  off  in 
that  direction. 

Jim,  Bert,  and  a  couple  of  Ramsey's  men 
went  to  the  camp  to  question  the  gypsies,  who 
were  so  dumbfounded  at  what  they  heard,  that 
the  searching  party  knew  without  a  doubt  that 
the  child  had  not  been  seen  there.  The  cap- 
tain of  the  camp,  however,  insisted  upon  the 
men  going  through  every  place  a  child  could 
have  been  stowed  in. 

Great  bon-fires  were  kept  burning  all  night, 
while  men  trudged  over  hills  and  down  val- 


214    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

leys  with  no  success.  After  following  every 
suggestion  given,  without  success,  a  lengthy 
conference  at  Mr.  Ramsey's  house,  showed  the 
futility  of  spending  further  time  in  that  vicin- 
ity. Agreeing  to  keep  each  other  informed  of 
any  news,  they  departed  to  their  respective 
homes. 

Laddie  went  about  for  some  days  without 
eating  food,  but  when  Mary's  name  was  men- 
tioned, he  would  jump  up,  wagging  his  tail. 
Finding  one  of  her  old  slippers  at  the  cottage, 
Mollie  saw  him,  a  few  minutes  later,  racing 
home  with  it  in  his  mouth.  Taking  it  to  his 
corner  of  the  chimney,  he  licked  it  carefully 
and  watched  it  lovingly. 

Posters,  offering  rewards,  were  put  up  in 
every  conspicuous  place,  while  the  papers  re- 
peated the  description  of  the  child,  advancing 
all  kinds  of  impossible  theories  as  to  her  dis- 
appearance; then  some  other  item  of  public 
interest  came  up  to  notice  and  the  kidnap- 
ping story  was  dropped. 

When  Mary's  friends  had  used  every  effort 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    215 

to  discover  her  whereabouts,  they  determined 
to  wait  entirely  upon  Love  for  further  leading. 

Mrs.  Alvern  had  said  from  the  very  first, 
that  as  she  was  not  found  immediately,  even 
though  they  were  all  working  right  mentally, 
it  would  be  better  to  keep  quiet  and  trust,  in- 
stead of  rushing  about,  to  create  so  much  error 
thought  through  the  papers,  that  might  only 
serve  to  hold  back  the  child's  demonstration. 

This  attitude  of  quiet  faith,  awaiting  Love's 
leading,  created  tremendous  notice  in  the 
town.  Some,  declaring  that  the  Christian 
Scientist's  trust  in  Divine  Love  was  beautiful 
to  behold,  while  others  denounced  that  very 
trust.  As  the  days  wore  on  the  interest  in- 
creased instead  of  diminished  in  the  incident, 
until  the  time  Love  gave  His  reward. 

•  •  *  •  • 

A  few  days  after  Mary's  conversation  with 
Ola  about  his  family,  the  gypsies  pulled  a  halt 
for  several  days  on  the  outskirts  of  a  town  in 
South  Jersey. 

The  first  day,  Mary  took  charge  of  the  baby 


216    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

while  Phiny  went  to  town.     Ola  had  gone 
too,  but  coming  back  early,  he  told  Mary  what 
he  had  seen  and  done  in  the  town,  adding: 
"  Phiny  said  you  could  go  with  us  to-mor- 


row." 


"What's  the  name  of  the  town?"  asked 
Mary  indifferently. 

"Alloway  Junction,"  answered  Ola,  while 
playing  with  the  baby's  toes. 

"Alloway  Junction!  Did  you  say  Allo- 
way? "  cried  Mary,  jumping  up  in  great  ex- 
citement. 

"Why,  yes,"  answered  Ola,  bewildered. 

"  Do  you  suppose  it  could  be  Alloway 
Junction,  Salem  County,  in  Jersey?"  asked 
Mary  breathlessly. 

"  The  very  same,"  replied  Ola.  "  But  why 
do  you  ask?" 

"  Oh,  Ola!  it's  my  old  home.  I  know  every 
street  in  the  town.  We  lived  on  a  farm  just 
outside  the  town  and  father  used  to  drive  us 
in  every  day.  Everybody  there  knows  me!" 

"  Mary,"  said  Ola  solemnly,  "  I  b'lieve  your 


-'""-• 


I'll  take  you  with  me  when  I'm  found  " 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    217 

God  is  goin'  to  send  you  home.  You  won't 
forget  me  if  you  go,  will  you?" 

"I  just  guess  not!"  declared  Mary  decid- 
edly. "  I'll  take  you  with  me  when  I'm 
found." 

"You'll  have  to  be  very  quiet  so's  not  to 
show  you  know  anything.  If  anyone  dreams 
of  your  secret  they'll  pack  up  at  once  and  ske- 
daddle," warned  Ola. 

"  Oh,  Ola,  don't  you  see  how  Divine  Love 
led  these  gypsies  to  camp  here,  where  all  the 
people  know  me?  And  Phiny  goes  to-day, 
so's  I  can  go  to-morrow  and  be  found?" 

"  It's  wonderful,  but  I  don't  s'pose  anyone 
remembers  who  I  am,  so  I  don't  expect  ever  to 
be  found  like  you  are,"  remarked  Ola,  discon- 
solately. 

"Why!  you  old  error  talking  in  Ola!  how 
dare  you?  Ola  won't  let  you  s'courage  him 
now,  when  he  knows  that  God  never  lost  him 
an'  knows  just  where  his  f  am'ly  are." 

Mary's  words  acted  like  an  audible  treat- 
ment to  Ola  who  immediately  began  to  feel  as 


218    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

if  he  were  going  to  meet  his  relatives  too,  on 
the  morrow. 

Mary  slept  as  soundly  as  ever  that  night,  for 
she  knew  God  governed  ALL. 

The  following  day  when  the  young  people 
went  out,  Ola  kept  quite  close  to  Mary. 
Neither  spoke  above  a  whisper,  concerning 
the  hope  that  filled  their  thoughts,  but  Mary 
tripped  down  the  street  as  unconcernedly  as  if 
she  was  with  friends,  instead  of  disreputable 
looking  young  gypsies.  Being  at  home  in  the 
streets  of  the  town,  she  showed  Ola  where 
Helen  and  she  went  to  school;  passing  the 
road  that  led  out  to  their  farm,  Mary  nudged 
Ola,  quietly  nodding  her  head  and  whisper- 
ing: 

"  Our  farm's  out  that  road." 

Just  as  they  were  passing  a  real  estate  office 
on  the  main  street,  a  man  stepped  down  from 
the  steps. 

"Upon  my  word!"  exclaimed  he.  "The 
very  child  I'm  thinking  of  I  Little  one,  come 
here." 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    219 

The  gentleman  confronted  Mary  and  Ola, 
and  placed  a  hand  on  her  shoulder,  while 
pushing  back  her  old  straw  hat. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Woods!"  cried  Mary.  "Love 
has  sent  you  to  take  me  home!  Oh,  I'm  so 
happy!  Oh,  Oh!" 

Mary  was  so  overwhelmed  with  joy  that  not 
another  word  could  she  utter.  One  of  the 
young  gypsies  tried  to  urge  Ola  away,  while 
the  others  hurried  off. 

"What  do  you  want,  you  young  scala- 
wag?" demanded  Mr.  Woods  so  angrily,  that 
the  gypsy  ran  off. 

Then  Ola  told  the  tale  Mary  had  told 
him. 

The  excitement  had  attracted  several  pass- 
ers-by, who  notified  an  officer  of  the  kidnap- 
ping. 

The  policeman  being  only  a  substitute  for 
a  friend,  started  alone  after  the  gypsies,  but 
recalling  the  number  he  would  probably  have 
to  meet,  he  returned  to  head-quarters  for  as- 
sistance. When  the  usual  red  tape  had  been 


220    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

attended  to,  a  detachment  of  officers  were  de- 
tailed to  go  and  arrest  the  rascals. 

But  the  gypsies  were  too  sly.  They  were 
many  miles  from  their  camping  place  when 
the  officers  of  the  law  arrived,  to  find  noth- 
ing but  ashes  and  debris. 

"  Come  right  into  my  office,  children,"  said 
Mr.  Woods  kindly.  "  I  don't  remember  your 
first  name  but  I  recognized  your  face  in  a  mo- 
ment. I  advertised  for  your  mother's  address, 
this  week,  so  I  was  thinking  of  her  when  you 
popped  up  under  my  eyes." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Woods,  my  dear  mother  went  on 
a  visit  to  Love,"  faltered  Mary. 

"Went  where?" 

"Dr.  Dorand,  he's  the  man  what  found 
Helen  an'  me  the  day  we  was  so  hungry,  you 
know,  well,  he  said  mother's  gone  to  visit  our 
Father." 

"  Poor  little  dear,"  murmured  Mr.  Woods, 
passing  his  hand  over  his  moist  eyes. 

"We  have  been  very  happy  though,  and 
Mollie  loves  Helen  an'  me  just  like  we  was 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    221 

her  own  fam'ly.  Everybody  what  lives  there 
loves  everybody  else,  'cause  they  wouldn'  be 
children  of  Divine  Love  if  they  didn't,"  said 
Mary. 

"  I  can  readily  see  you  were  happy,"  re- 
marked Mr.  Woods,  smilingly.  "Now,  if 
you  will  tell  me  where  to  find  these  friends, 
I'll  send  them  word  at  once,  then  we  will  go 
home  and  visit  Mrs.  Woods,  whom  you  no 
doubt  remember." 

Mary  gave  the  names  and  addresses  of  her 
friends,  while  Mr.  Woods  sent  telegrams  to 
apprise  them  of  Mary's  safety,  asking  Dr.  Do- 
rand  to  come  to  Alloway  Junction,  as  an  im- 
portant business  matter  needed  attention  at 
once. 

Mary  and  Ola  went  to  Mr.  Woods'  home 
where  they  were  cared  for  by  his  wife,  who 
had  been  an  old  school  mate  of  Mary's 

mother. 

.  «  .  •  • 

That  noon  while  Mary  was  enjoying  her 
dinner  at  the  Woods',  Mrs.  Alvern,  many 


222    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

miles  from  Alloway  Junction,  stood  by  the 
window  thinking  of  Mary. 

Presently,  a  messenger  boy  came  up  the 
street  and  went  up  Dorand's  steps.  Throw- 
ing a  shawl  over  her  head,  Mrs.  Alvern  went 
over,  knowing  intuitively  that  the  telegram 
contained  news  of  Mary. 

"My  dear!"  gasped  Mrs.  Dorand,  as  she 
opened  the  door  for  her  friend,  "  what  do  you 
think?" 

"About  Mary!  Isn't  it?"  asked  Mrs.  Al- 
vern joyously. 

Going  into  the  library,  Mrs.  Alvern  was 
given  the  telegram  to  read ;  as  she  realized  that 
Mary  was  safe  at  her  old  home,  the  wonder  of 
the  demonstration  amazed  her. 

"  Did  you  ever! "  laughed  Mrs.  Dorand  de- 
lightedly. "Just  think]  This  gentleman 
wants  to  see  my  husband  about  important 
business.  Do  you  suppose  the  children  had 
property?" 

"  I  haven't  time  to  think  of  that,"  answered 
Mrs.  Alvern,  joyously.  "  I'm  going  home  so 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    223 

fast  to  tell  the  others  of  the  glorious  news,  that 
Mercury  will  lose  the  record  for  speed." 

While  she  spoke,  Dr.  Dorand,  coming  in 
the  room,  greeted  her. 

"  Have  you  thought  of  the  commotion  this 
news  will  make  in  the  town?"  asked  he. 

"  If  anyone  needed  proof  that  our  God  is 
Love,  this  finding  of  Mary  at  her  old  home 
ought  to  be  sufficient,"  replied  Mrs.  Dorand. 

Ned  had  gone  for  a  cab  to  take  his  father  to 
the  train,  while  the  doctor  searched  his  desk 
for  a  timetable. 

"I  can  get  the  3:15  train  from  here,"  said 
he,  "  and  by  changing  at  Newark,  instead  of 
going  to  Jersey  City,  I  can  get  the  express  that 
stops  on  the  switch  at  Alloway  Junction  a  few 
minutes,  to  allow  the  '  Southern  Limited '  to 
pass  there." 

Dr.  Dorand,  reaching  the  town  of  Alloway, 
easily  found  Mr.  Woods'  home,  where  a 
happy  little  face  was  waiting  at  the  window 
for  his  appearance. 

After  Mary  and  Ola  had  gone  to  bed,  Mr. 


224    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Woods  entertained  his  guest  by  discussing  the 
manner  in  which  Mary  was  found. 

"  I  had  just  been  speaking  of  the  Grahams 
before  I  went  to  the  door,  so  it  seemed  queer 
that  the  child  should  be  passing." 

"  You  knew  them  well,  I  suppose,  when  the 
father  was  alive?"  questioned  Dr.  Dorand. 

"Oh,  yes  indeed!"  replied  Mr.  Woods. 
"Jack  Graham  and  I  were  old  chums.  I  was 
the  indirect  cause  of  that  mortgage  trouble  on 
his  farm." 

"  I  know  absolutely  nothing  of  their  af- 
fairs," said  the  doctor,  "  except  that  some  rela- 
tives at  Watnong,  would  not  receive  the  chil- 
dren, when  they  heard  they  had  nothing  to 
live  upon." 

"  Then  you  don't  know  about  the  mortgage 
affair,"  queried  his  host. 

"No,"  answered  Dr.  Dorand.  "All  I 
knew  was  that  when  we  found  the  woman  she 
was  beyond  any  earthly  help.  We  followed  the 
directions  in  her  note,  concerning  the  girls, 
but  instead  of  sending  them  to  the  County 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    225 

House  as  their  relative  suggested,  we  took  and 
cared  for  them,  and  now  are  very  fond  of 
them  both." 

"  It's  mighty  fine  of  you  to  help  strangers 
like  that,  but  now,  I'm  going  to  give  you  a  lit- 
tle surprise,"  said  Mr.  Woods,  taking  some 
documents  from  his  desk. 

"  The  farm  and  house  that  belonged  to  Gra- 
ham, lay  just  the  other  side  of  the  city  line.  A 
very  good  real  estate  proposition  came  my 
way,  in  which  I  saw  an  immense  profit  if  I 
could  get  a  trusted  friend  to  go  in  with  me. 
Suggesting  it  to  Graham,  he  became  inter- 
ested at  once.  His  place  being  free  and  clear, 
he  mortgaged  it  for  six  months  and  went  into 
the  deal  on  the  money  borrowed.  Soon  after 
this,  I  was  sent  to  Liverpool  on  some  business 
for  a  friend  who  promised  me  a  liberal  com- 
mission with  all  expenses  paid.  The  transac- 
tion coming  at  a  time  of  year  when  my  busi- 
ness was  quiet,  I  started,  in  anticipation  of  a 
good  time.  Having  left  my  office  with  relia- 
ble clerks,  I  was  not  worried  much  when  I 


226    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

discovered  I  would  be  detained  longer  than 
had  at  first  been  estimated  upon. 

"  Shortly  after  I  left,  Graham  took  a  severe 
cold,  contracted  pneumonia  and  went  out  like 
a  match  on  a  windy  night.  His  widow  with 
her  two  little  girls  struggled  alone  until  the 
six  months'  interest  on  the  mortgage  came  due 
and  could  not  be  met.  I  heard  nothing  of 
these  matters  while  away,  as  none  of  our 
friends  knew  of  our  secret  investment,  conse- 
quently they  all  believed  Mrs.  Graham  to  be 
comfortably  fixed ;  but  when  the  old  Jew  who 
held  the  mortgage,  foreclosed  and  took  the 
farm,  everyone  was  amazed.  Mrs.  Graham, 
knowing  nothing  of  business,  had  never  been 
told  of  the  investment  her  husband  had  bor- 
rowed the  money  for,  so  she  was  ignorant  of 
the  fact  that  she  would  be  *  comfortable'  some 
day;  too  proud  to  accept  aid  from  friends,  she 
sold  the  furniture  when  turned  out  of  her 
home,  and  taking  her  children,  left  here,  giv- 
ing no  idea  of  where  she  expected  to  go.  I 
knew  the  papers  in  the  safe  deposit  bank 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    227 

would  have  paid  back  the  old  Shylock's  loan 
while  an  advancement  on  the  deal  would  have 
kept  the  family. 

11  One  day,  soon  after  I  got  back,  while  fil- 
ing some  papers  at  the  record  office  in  Salem, 
I  discovered  those  mortgages  were  not  legally 
executed,  and  if  the  Grahams  would  prosecute 
they  could  recover  the  property.  I  then  be- 
gan to  hunt  them  up  but  with  no  success,  until 
a  few  weeks  ago,  when  the  real  estate  invest- 
ment began  to  boom,  I  realized  I  must  find 
some  one  who  could  authorize  the  sale  of  the 
lots.  Advertising,  and  following  up  every 
trace  of  Mrs.  Graham,  I  just  got  hold  of  these 
farmer  relatives  you  spoke  of,  when  I  practi- 
cally fell  over  Graham's  little  girl  this  morn- 
ing; as  the  matter  now  stands,  she'll  not  be  de- 
pendent on  any  one." 

"  I  am  truly  amazed — and  delighted  at 
what  you  tell  me,"  said  Dr.  Dorand. 

"  Do  you  know  whether  the  mother  left  any 
writing  or  other  paper,  concerning  the  chil- 
dren?" asked  Mr.  Woods. 


228    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  I  do  not  know  what  she  had  done  before 
we  found  them,"  replied  the  doctor,  "but  no 
writing  was  found  excepting  the  directions 
written  on  a  card,  how  to  reach  the  cousin's 
farm." 

"  Then  these  cousins  being  next  of  kin 
really  have  control  of  the  girls  until  major- 
ity?" asked  Mr.  Woods. 

"No,  they  haven't!  Being  not  very  kindly 
disposed  toward  the  farmer  when  they  acted 
so  meanly  toward  their  little  relatives,  I  had 
a  lawyer  friend  draw  up  papers,  giving  me 
absolute  right  and  control  of  the  children  in 
every  way  until  they  come  of  age.  The 
farmer  gladly  signed  it  thinking  to  avoid  ex- 
pense and  trouble.  I  was  legally  granted  the 
sole  guardianship  and  appointed  trustee  of  the 
two  girls,  at  Orphans  Court  that  term.  Not 
that  I  ever  thought  I  would  have  to  work  for 
the  honor  of  being  trustee  of  their  estate," 
added  Dr.  Dorand  laughing. 

"Good  for  you!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Woods, 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    229 

slapping  his  visitor  on  the  back  in  a  hearty 
manner. 

"  I'm  afraid  I'm  still  very  mortal,"  laughed 
the  doctor,  "  but  I  was  just  thinking  I'd  like 
to  be  behind  a  curtain,  when  old  farmer  Gra- 
ham hears  of  the  money  he  kicked  out  of  his 
house,  when  he  turned  those  little  orphans 
away." 

Mr.  Woods  joined  in  the  laugh  as  they  arose 
to  retire. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  FULL  GRAIN  IN  THE  EAR 

TIT  R.  HILMAN  came  down  to  Alloway 
Junction  the  same  day  he  read   the 
message  from  his  friend. 

That  afternoon  Dr.  Dorand  and  his  friend 
sat  in  Mr.  Woods'  office,  going  carefully  over 
all  the  papers. 

"  What  would  be  the  law  on  the  sale  of  this 
real  estate?"  asked  Mr.  Woods  presently. 

"  I'll  have  to  look  up  Jersey  law  on  that 
point,  particularly  as  this  case  is  complicated. 
I  can  give  you  my  opinion  of  the  moral  and 
just  law  in  connection  with  it,  however,"  an- 
swered Mr.  Hilman. 

"  Well,  the  only  thing  that  concerns  me  and 
which  is  quite  sufficient,  is,  that  Mary  is  with 
us,  old  Shylock  will  be  paid  for  his  loan,  and 
that  the  girls  will  be  independent,"  remarked 
Dr.  Dorand,  settling  back  in  his  chair  as  if  all 
cares  about  the  matter  were  entirely  settled. 

231 


232    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  I'd  rather  not  have  the  responsibility  of 
these  papers,"  said  Mr.  Woods,  turning  to  the 
lawyer.  "As  I  am  interested  in  the  real  es- 
tate investment  also,  it  would  prove  disagree- 
able for  me  to  explain,  should  anything  hap- 
pen to  them." 

"  Why,  I'll  willingly  take  charge  of  them," 
replied  Mr.  Hilman,  signing  a  receipt  for 
them.  "  I'll  look  after  the  legal  part  of  this 
affair  for  the  girls  and  endeavor  to  settle  the 
matter  amicably  to  all  concerned." 

"What  about  those  kidnappers?"  asked 
Mr.  Woods. 

"  Nothing,"  said  the  doctor.  "  I  believe  in 
letting  '  the  dead  bury  its  dead.'  We  have 
received  more  than  £  a  measure  of  meal ' 
through  the  gypsies  conducting  Mary  to  her 

old  home." 

•  ••.•• 

When  Dr.  Dorand,  with  Mary  and  Ola, 
reached  home  the  morning  before  Thanksgiv- 
ing, the  calling,  laughing  and  general  confus- 
ion was  deafening. 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    233 

Mary  was  the  heroine  of  the  day,  with  so 
many  questions  asked  and  answered  between 
smothered  hugs  and  kisses,  that  her  head  was 
fairly  turned. 

Ola  smiled  sympathetically  at  the  demon- 
strations of  love  so  profusely  bestowed.  He 
felt  somewhat  defrauded  though,  as  if  God 
had  not  given  him  his  share  of  loved  ones.  But 
as  he  recalled  that  a  feeling  like  that  was  er- 
ror, he  closed  his  lips  hard  and  said  to  him- 
self: 

"  Get  out  of  my  mind,  error.  Mary  says 
you're  not  to  be  trusted." 

"  And  is  this  the  dear  .boy  that  our  Mary 
brought  home  to  us?"  asked  Mrs.  Alvern, 
lovingly  taking  Ola  by  the  hand  to  draw  him 
over  by  the  window. 

"Who  does  he  remind  you  of?"  continued 
she  to  Mrs.  Dorand,  after  looking  well  at  the 
boy. 

"I  don't  know,  I've  been  trying  to  guess, 
ever  since  I  first  saw  him,"  answered  Mrs.  Do- 
rand  in  a  perplexed  tone. 


234    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

Everyone  had  a  different  idea  to  whom  Ola 
bore  resemblance  and  amid  laughable  com- 
parisons the  boy  began  to  feel  more  at  ease. 

Some  time  after  this,  Mrs.  Alvern,  who  had 
seemed  lost  in  deep  thought,  looked  up  sud- 
denly. 

"  I  have  it!  "  exclaimed  she,  with  such  vehe- 
mence that  those  near  her  were  startled. 

"  Hold  it  fast  before  it  gets  away,"  laughed 
Mrs.  Dorand. 

"  I  just  saw  the  resemblance.  Ola  looks 
exactly  like  Bobsy  Whiting." 

"  He  does,  for  a  fact!  If  Bobsy  was  Ola's 
age,  they  might  pass  for  twins,"  said  Dr.  Do- 
rand. 

"  Ola,  did  you  say  you  could  remember 
some  brothers  or  sisters?  Could  you  recall 
your  mother's  face  if  you  were  to  see  her?" 
asked  Mrs.  Alvern,  earnestly. 

"No,  ma'am,  I  don't  think  I  could.  Some- 
times I  awake  from  a  dream  to  think  I'm  sit- 
ting on  a  stone  door-step  with  tall  flowers  all 
down  the  side  of  the  house ;  beyond,  I  can  see 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    235 

meadows  with  cows  pasturing  under  the 
apple-trees;  in  the  distance  I  could  see  the 
steam-cars  slowing  up  at  a  station  of  a  small 
town  that  lay  at  the  foot  of  some  mountains. 
I  know  I  should  recognize  my  mother's  voice 
if  I  heard  it  again,  because  she  used  .to  sing  us 
to  sleep  every  night." 

The  ladies  shook  their  heads  disappointedly 
as  the  picture  described  did  not  tally  with 
any  home  they  knew  of. 

"  Ola,  if  you  only  could  remember  your 
name!"  said  Betty,  regretfully. 

"  Love  knows,"  spoke  up  Mary,  trustfully. 
"  I  told  Ola  he  didn't  have  to  'member  his 
name  'cause  Divine  Love  knows  all  the  time, 
and  will  whisper  it  to  him  when  it  is  time  for 
him  to  go  back  to  that  farm  with  his  fam'ly." 

"  Mary  is  right,"  said  Mollie,  who  had 
come  in  to  tell  her  family  that  dinner  was 
waiting  at  the  cottage. 

"  Mary  knows,  for  her  beautiful  demon- 
n  was  due  to  her  implicit  trust  in  Love," 
6  Mrs.  Alvern. 


236    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

It  was  almost  midnight  when  the  last  light 
was  turned  out  in  the  different  households. 
Joe  and  Pete  arranged  to  sleep  in  one  bed, 
giving  Ola  the  cot  that  Pete  had  been  occupy- 
ing. 

None  were  happier  when  the  good  fortune 
of  the  Graham  children  was  heard,  than  the 
Whitings.  They  had  been  invited  to  have 
dinner  at  Mrs.  Alvern's,  but,  as  they  always 
went  to  their  grandmother's  on  Thanksgiving 
day,  they  sent  two  immense  turkeys  and  a  pair 
of  ducks,  the  day  before. 

Great  preparations  had  been  going  on  for 
the  celebration  of  this  Thanksgiving  Day,  as 
so  much  had  come  into  the  lives  of  these 
friends. 

Aunt  Belle  was  expected  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, to  make  her  long  promised  visit,  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Hilman  had  accepted  Mrs.  Alvern's 
invitation  to  dine  at  her  house.  As  all  of  the 
Dorand  family  were  to  join  forces  with  the 

Alverns  at  dinner,  Nannie  went  over  er   '  - 

o      »o 
the  morning  to    help    Dinah.     Molli-,    tc^' 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    237 

came  in  to  assist,  so  everything  worked 
harmoniously  for  all  interested  in  the  din- 
ner. 

As  the  time  drew  nigh  for  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  Hilman,  Mrs.  Alvern  seemed  a  center  of 
secret  anticipation.  She  fairly  bubbled  over 
with  news  that  could  scarcely  be  kept  to  her- 
self. 

All  the  scientists  had  been  invited  to  Mrs. 
Alvern's  house  for  a  Thanksgiving  service. 
A  great  number  of  friends  and  acquaintances 
of  the  scientists,  who  had  never  attended  any 
of  the  meetings,  were  so  interested  in  Mary's 
return,  that  they  asked  permission  to  attend 
the  morning  service. 

When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hilman  drove  up  in  a 
cab,  Mrs.  Alvern  met  them  at  the  door. 

"  Have  you  got  it  with  you?"  asked  she  in 
an  excited  whisper. 

"All  safe  and  sound,"  said  Mr.  Hilman, 
laughing,  while  carefully  taking  some  legal- 
looking  papers  from  his  pocket  and  giving 
them  to  Mrs.  Alvern. 


238    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

There  was  a  pause  while  Mrs.  Alvern 
looked  over  the  papers. 

"  1  think  your  gift  of  gratitude  in  Divine 
Love  is  beautiful,"  Mr.  Hilman  remarked, 
"  and  I  wish  to  be  the  first  to  pray  all  bless- 
ings to  attend  the  gift." 

"  I  have  so  much  to  be  thankful  for  that  I 
do  not  deem  this  a  great  gift,"  said  Mrs.  Al- 
vern, with  thanksgiving  tears  of  hope  and 
faith  in  her  eyes. 

Before  eleven  o'clock  the  parlors  and  hall 
were  crowded  with  a  circle  of  friends  to  go 
over  the  service.  Just  before  the  meeting 
closed,  Mr.  Hilman  arose  to  speak. 

"  To-day  I  have  a  pleasant  task  vouchsafed 
me.  I  have  a  gift  of  gratitude  to  offer  these 
followers  of  Christ  that  will  surprise  and 
gladden  you  as  it  has  me." 

Taking  a  folded  paper  from  his  pocket  he 
opened  it  and  held  it  out  so  all  could  see. 

"  I  have  here  a  deed  of  land  free  from  all 
debt  or  encumbrance,  made  out  to  me  in  trust, 
for  a  church  property,  subject  to  all  such  con- 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    239 

ditions  as  are  usual  in  our  churches ;  this  beau- 
tiful gift  comes  from  our  dear  friend,  Mary 
S.  Alvern. 

"  I  wish  to  add,  that  I  think  the  reaching  out 
of  the  little  ones  for  homeless  children  is  the 
most  beautiful  thought  I  have  ever  known. 
The  simple  fact  that  two  little  Love-ideas 
v,  ished  to  give  their  associates  the  understand- 
ing and  faith  to  help  themselves  to  God's  love 
and  supply,  so  that  they  in  turn  may  give  the 
blessing  to  others,  has  been  so  blessed  by  Di- 
vine Love  that  '  Love's  Home '  is  manifest- 
ing in  a  Church,  from  which  can  be  sent  forth 
the  '  good  tidings  of  great  joy.' ' 

When  Mr.  Hilman  had  finished,  the  won- 
der and  pleasure  became  so  demonstrative  that 
Mrs.  Alvern  arose  to  escape  from  the  room, 
but  Mr.  Hilman,  anticipating  her  action, 
stepped  forward  and  intercepted  her  exit. 

"We  are  too  grateful  to  express  our 
thanks,"  said  he,  "  but  coming  just  at  this  sea- 
son it  is  most  appropriate;  so  before  our  offer- 
ings are  collected,  I  vote  that  this  'gift'  goes 


240    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

in  the  basket,  and  those  who  wish  may  sub- 
scribe or  give  their  contributions  in  the  basket, 
for  a  '  starter '  of  a  new  church  building." 

The  proposal  meeting  with  unanimous  con- 
sent, Dr.  Dorand  took  the  basket  in  which 
Mr.  Hilman  had  placed  the  deed  and  his 
check  for  $500.  The  doctor  gave  one  for  the 
same  amount,  while  Aunt  Belle  subscribed 
$300.  When  the  basket  had  gone  around  it 
was  filled  with  bills  and  papers  of  subscrip- 
tion. 

Marion,  playing  the  beautiful  communion 
hymn  written  by  our  Leader,  "  Saw  ye  my 
Saviour,"  the  song  rose  with  such  fervor  from 
the  hearts  of  all,  that  it  was  truly  a  Thanksgiv- 
ing anthem. 

While  friends  stood  about  congratulating 
each  other  some  of  the  men  counted  up  the 
contributions,  until  Dinah  blocked  the  door- 
way with  an  injured  expression  on  her  face. 

"  Laws-a-massy-me!  Does  dese  folkses  tink 
our  turkeys  hab  to  cook  till  ebenin'?  I'se  ben 
waitin'  to  serb  de  dinner  dis  las  tree  hour." 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    241 

A  laugh  greeted  Dinah's  complaint,  as  the 
delinquents  hurriedly  said  good-bye,  some  of 
them,  in  passing,  slipping  money  in  her  hand. 

That  dinner  was  one  Ola  never  forgot. 
Everything  seemed  to  him  the  acme  of  love 
and  joy;  poor  boy,  he  had  never  experienced 
much  of  either. 

When  it  became  known  in  the  town,  that  the 
sum  of  money  collected  for  a  church  building 
Thanksgiving  Day,  was  $4,130.  several  people 
imagined  the  amount  was  exaggerated,  but  as 
the  sum  was  deposited  in  the  National  Bank, 
it  was  soon  corroborated.  Many  friends  out- 
side of  the  little  band  of  scientists  sent  their 
contributions  towards  the  church  building. 

The  morning  following  Thanksgiving, 
Fred  Whiting  came  home  with  the  mail  and 
papers.  Giving  them  to  his  mother,  she  sat 
down  in  her  rocker  by  the  window  to  read 
them. 

"Nathaniel  Whiting!"  exclaimed  she, 
dropping  the  newspaper  in  amazement, 
"have  you  read  the  paper  to-day?" 


242    THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  How  could  I,  when  you've  had  it  ever 
since  Fred  brought  them  in.  What's  the 
news?  Some  one  leave  you  a  fortune?" 
laughed  Mr.  Whiting. 

"  Better  than  that! "  replied  she.  "  Just  you 
read  that!" 

"Well,  I  never!"  remarked  her  husband  as 
he  finished  reading  the  account  of  the  church 
fund.  "That's  the  kind  of  religion  to  have. 
The  kind  that  acts  and  does  and  doesn't  waste 
time  in  talkin'  and  promisinV 

The  next  morning  as  Mr.  Whiting  was  go- 
ing out  to  the  barn,  he  turned  about  at  the 
door. 

"  Laura,  I'm  goin'  to  town  to-day.  Can 
you  go?  I'm  thinkin'  of  gettin'  some  new 
fixin's  for  the  incubator." 

"  Now,  see  here!  Nat  Whiting,  you're  goin' 
for  something  more'n  fixin's,  ain't  you?  "  asked 
his  wife,  looking  lovingly  at  him. 

"Umph!"  answered  he,  a  twinkle  coming 
into  his  eyes,  "  I  thought  I'd  drop  in  Dorand's 
to  see  if  I  couldn't  help  along  the  good  work. 


THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    243 

I  don't  like  bein'  left  out  in  the  cold  on  a  Love 
business  like  this." 

"  I  knew  it!  I've  been  jest  thinkin'  about 
it  all  night,  an'  kinder  wishin'  you'd  speak  of 
it  first,"  said  Mrs.  Whiting,  with  satisfac- 
tion. 

After  reaching  the  Dorands',  Mrs.  Whiting 
sat  talking  with  Mrs.  Dorand,  when  Betty 
came  in,  followed  by  Rod  and  Ola. 

"Oh,  Mrs.  Whiting,  did  you  hear  the 
news?"  asked  Betty  immediately. 

"  Yes,  indeed,  dearie.  I  was  just  told  how 
successful  the  Thanksgiving  Day  was,"  an- 
swered the  lady  addressed. 

Rod,  who  had  been  standing  back  by  the 
door  with  Ola,  now  brought  him  forward. 

"  I  want  to  introduce  a  member  to  you 
who  may  be  permanent,  but  we  don't  know 
yet." 

As  Rod  spoke,  Mrs.  Whiting  stood  up 
stiffly  and  turned  pale  with  emotion. 

"Child,  where  did  you  come  from?"  she 
asked. 


244    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  Mary  found  me  and  brought  me  here," 
answered  Ola,  in  surprise  at  the  lady's  strange 
behavior. 

"What's  your  name  and  where  did  you 
live?"  continued  Mrs.  Whiting,  growing 
more  intense  when  she  heard  Ola's  voice. 

"  Why,  I'm  the  boy  that  came  here  from  the 
gypsies  who  had  Mary.  Dr.  Dorand  says  I 
can  stay  here  until  Divine  Love  brings  me  my 
family,"  answered  Ola,  while  the  others 
gathered  about  him. 

"Mrs.  Whiting,  I've  thought  he  looks  so 
much  like  Bobsy,  do  you  see  the  resem- 
blance?" asked  Mrs.  Dorand. 

"  He  does  look  like  Bobsy,  but  he  is  the  very 
image  of  my  sister  in  Connecticut.  Her  first- 
born boy  was  stolen  by  gypsies  years  ago,  and 
although  they  spent  a  small  fortune  trying  to 
trace  him,  nothing  was  ever  heard  from  him. 
It  seemed  for  a  time  that  my  sister  would  have 
to  be  put  in  a  sanatorium  for  her  mind.  She 
prayed  continually,  hoping  God  would  bring 
back  her  boy,  until  the  family  avoided  all 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    245 

mention  of  the  child  on  account  of  the  spell  of 
depression  it  brought  on  her.  When  I  came 
to  understand  the  way  to  pray  right,  through 
Christian  Science,  I  wrote  to  her  and  sent  her 
a  copy  of  our  text-book.  A  few  weeks  ago  I 
had  a  letter  from  her  sayin'  that  readin'  the 
book  had  helped  her  so  much,  that  she  was 
just  waitin'  God's  time  to  bring  her  Oliver 
back  to  her." 

"That's  it!!  That's  it!  I  know  now,"  in- 
terrupted Ola,  with  great  excitement 

"What's  wrong?"  gasped  Rod. 

"  I  remember!  My  name  was  Oliver.  It 
sounds  so  familiar,  too,  when  that  lady  says 
it" 

"Child,  child!  Don't  raise  my  hopes  too 
much.  I'm  afraid  I'll  wake  to  find  it  a 
dream,"  said  Mrs.  Whiting,  pinching  her  arm 
to  assure  herself  she  was  awake. 

As  footsteps  were  heard  on  the  piazza,  Dr. 
Dorand  came  in,  followed  by  Mr.  Whiting. 
Looking  at  the  group  a  moment  the  doctor 
said: 


246    THE   SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST 

"  Something  must  have  struck  here  since  I 
last  was  in  here." 

"  Been  cryin'  over  the  church,  most  likely," 
said  Mr.  Whiting,  jocularly. 

"Nat!  Say!  If  sister  could  have  a  demon- 
stration sent  from  God,  what  do  you  think 
she  would  most  desire?"  asked  Mrs.  Whit- 
ing, patting  Ola  on  the  head. 

"Wife,  you  don't  mean  it! "  whispered  Mr. 
Whiting,  in  an  awesome  voice,  gazing  at  the 
boy. 

"  It  is,  it  is!"  cried  his  wife  happily. 

"  Ruth's  son  found!  Thanks  be  to  God  and 
that  dear  woman  who  gave  us  such  truth  in 
her  book,  '  Science  and  Health,  with  key  to 
the  Scriptures." 

Gradually,  as  Ola,  with  his  new-found 
uncle  and  aunt's  assistance,  mentioned  differ- 
ent incidents  that  he  remembered,  it  was 
proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  he  was  the  Oliver 
with  such  loving  relatives  waiting  for  his 
home-coming. 

"Well,  I  never!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Alvern, 


THE  SEEDLINGS'  HARVEST    247 

coming  in  just  at  that  moment,  "  Divine  Love 

pours  out  blessing  on  us  all  the  time." 
•  •  •  •  • 

And  now,  friends,  we  will  leave  the  Society 
for  a  time  to  work  on  the  demonstration  of  the 
church,  while  Ola  returns  to  his  home  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  his  loving  family. 

In  thinking  of  the  wonderful  harvest  gath- 
ered through  the  Good  planting  of  a  tiny  seed, 
does  it  not  seem  possible  for  you  and  I  to  plant 
seeds  in  the  Vineyard  that  will,  with  Divine 
Love  to  nourish  the  growth,  blossom  into  as 
many,  or  more  awakened  souls,  from  the  mor- 
tal dream  of  sin,  sickness  and  death,  as  was  ac- 
complished by  Love's  Society. 


THE   END 


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